The one hundred years tale
by Hopeshield
Summary: Briar's tale. The story of a cursed girl.
1. Ch 00- Once upon a time

Once upon a time… All eyes were on Raven as she made the-

 _Ahem!_ Again? You sure like playing favorites dear…

Who? _Me_?! Looks who's talking… I bet you interrupted me so you can go and start the story with Apple White instead!

Not now at least. You already set the audience on Raven... Now I can't just flip it without confusing them…

So you won't even deny that that's what you intended to do… besides they may already be utterly confused by all of this. Thank you, love, now we have to start over… again.

Well, I see no problem, now let _me_ begin… Once upon a time-

 _Aha!_ See, I knew it! You want to start with Apple! And _I'm_ the one playing favorites!

Mom, Dad… I'm sorry to interrupt but… Why are we covering the story again from the beginning?

Because we are narrators, Brooke… that's what we do… we narrate.

I know that, Dad… what I'm asking is why we are not continuing on with the next chapter… surely the audience wants to hear something new.

Well, that's because… hmm… you see, there is a reason…

Let me handle this, dear. Brooke, there are rules about opening new chapters. We'll explain them to you when you need to know about them. Short version is that we can't. So we will cover the story from the very beginning while we wait. Satisfied?

If I'm being honest-

Great! Now, where were we? Ah! Yeah, I was about to start with Apple-

Huhu! Oh, no. I see what you are trying to pull, but no, love. The story starts with Raven.

Prove it! Both stories are entwined together; they basically start at the same time!

I'm sorry to interrupt again but I have another question…

What is it this time, Brooke? Are you perhaps on your mom's side and giving her chances to take the upper hand in this, young lady?

What? No. Dad, I'm just wondering… Why don't we at least cover the story from someone else's perspective? Why does it always go around Apple and Raven?

They are the main characters, Brooke. Most interesting parts take place where they are.

Your father is right. We can't just pick another main character ourselves. Our role is just to narrate what is inside the books.

But we have done it before… now and then, telling short stories that barely involve the snow white duo… I'm sure there may be more chapters like that, right?

Hmmmm… Brooke we just explained you this, we can't just go opening new chapters.

Technically, mom, you didn't explain anything at all… and I'm just suggesting changing the point of view… not the main characters or the story at all. Oh! Maybe we can ask Maddie to-

Brooke, no. We cannot interfere with the story, we've been lucky nothing too severe has happened from your previous… slips.

Bu-

We are actually proud of you, Brooke; being so brave by going against the rules to help those you care about; and I know that being a narrator may not look as fun now, with all the rules we have to abide by, but I'm sure you'll find a way to love it nonetheless just like your mother and I.

I still love narrating, Dad… I just… I guess… waiting may not be my favorite part of it.

How about we let you be the first one to narrate when a new chapter is opened? Will that make the waiting more interesting to you?

Really?! It does, Mom! It does! Thank you! Thank you both!

Well, well, why don't you rest a bit while your father and I narrate from the beginning? You can come back any time you want.

Ok, I'll wander a little to distract myself, hopefully I'll find something interesting… don't mind me and continue if I take too long. Love you Dad! Love you Mom!

Take care! Try not to get yourself in trouble!

Love you, sweetie! Ok… now where were we again? Ah yes I was about to start with Apple, right dear?

Not this again…

* * *

I'm bored! Several weeks have passed since that… and Mom and Dad have been doing nothing but narrating everything again and again… I think this is their 23rd time…

"23rd?! That sounds crazy!"

I know, right! Coming from you it means a lot… I'm starting to get worried about them...

"So, it is the first time they behave like this."

Yes, we have had waiting periods before, but they've never been so eager in re-reading everything over and over… As an expert in the matter, do you think they've gone… mad?

"Hmm, no. I don't think so. Real madness is not so robotic… it's more like a brrr or a swwwwnnn! Know what I mean?"

 _Chuckle-_ well looking at you, sticking your tongue with arms crossed pointing in different directions and standing in one feet, I guess I do. And now you're clapping your hands in excitement…

"Oh! It's because I love it when you do that, it's so funny!"

Wh.. what?!

"When you start describing what everyone is doing! It's hat-tastic!"

Oh! Thanks! That's kind of our thing… we are narrators at the end…

"And at the beginning too."

It's always so fun to talk to you Maddie. It would be great if I didn't have to hide to do so… and between school and the Tea Shoppe you barely have free time… besides I would feel bad if everyone saw you randomly talking alone…

"I don't mind, Brooke. I'm mad, see? And I would never let down or up a friend! So feel free to talk to me when you can, silly".

Thanks… now back to my parents and their odd behavior… you said they have not gone mad and I just pointed out they've never acted like this before…

"Think they may be hiding something?"

Huh?

"Yeah… I remember Raven acting similarly once… it was nothing important what she was hiding… just a picture of Apple in her mirrorphone. Raven can be weird at times…"

Well, it sounds fitting but not quite… wait… of Apple? Why would she hide that?

"Weird, right? I thought so too… and about your parents, maybe they're hiding something big! Maybe it's a surprise for you or something! Oh, I love surprises!"

"Maddie!" A voice called not so far from here… why are you giggling?

"You are doing it again!" Oh.

"Maddie!" They called again, now swinging an arm.

"It's Raven! I gotta leave! Tell me when you discover your parents' picture, ok?"

Yes, yes. Go, she's waiting.

"Talk to you later, Brooke!"

"Who's Brooke?" Asked Raven, who had gotten close enough to hear Maddie.

Said girl giggled sweetly before saying "She's my friend."

* * *

I'm sorry to disappoint, Maddie… it may not be a picture, but I think we got a starter thinking they may be up to something… but what could a narrator hide? Isn't it against the rules or something? Maybe it is as Maddie said and it's a surprise… or a spoiler.

Maybe I could just ask them what's going on. Hmmm… Mom… that would be a bad idea… but maybe Dad, he's always less stiff.

Mom, Dad, I'm back!

…

Huh? No response?

…That would change things for the better-

Or the worst!

He! Seems they started over again… maybe I shouldn't interrupt them. _Sigh-_ I wish I could've stayed with Maddie a little longer… She said she liked it when I narrated… _giggle._

* * *

If only I could materialize in the fairytale world. I mean the mirrornetwork does give me a little bit more of freedom in there but… I can't help wanting more.

Seems like Mom and Dad are at it again; it sounds like they are already on Thronecoming. _Geez,_ What in the Kingdom is going on with them? I tried talking to Dad but he won't let out a verse. Do they really want me to believe this is normal?

Things would be so much easier if I could just narrate the narrators; it would be as easy as changing the weather.

Huh? What was that? It felt as if someone was calling me. Oh! There it is again!

Mom? Dad? … No, they are still narrating. Then… who? Or… what?

To the right? I hear it a little clearer now. I _feel_ it a little clearer… Should I… follow it? That came out wrong: I will follow it! That's better. I wonder why I don't feel scared at all, oh! To the left now, all I feel is this pushing inside of me.

The Bookroom… Mom and Dad said I shouldn't come in. But! I feel it coming from here. C'mon, Brooke! Be brave! Make your own choices! At the count of three!

One!

Two!

Two and a half!

Two and three quarters!

Here comes nothing… Three!

…

Huh?! WOOOOOOOW! They're so many! What's with this?! Wow!

Ah! These are from before Raven and Co! All of these are the story of Ever After!

The guys' volumes! _Chuckle-_ This is where Thronecoming should be.

Spring Unsprung, Way too Wonderland, Dragon Games… huh? _Bathump-_ Which is this one…? It is unsealed. Is this…? No, it can't be. Mom and Dad wouldn't, would they? … I should take a peek to be sure.

As her eyes shined with tears she raised her arm. Wielding her sword firmly in hand, she kissed the blade while raising a prayer to the skies above. Soon, she would be face to face with death and she knew it. But that would not be enough to break her resolution… Wait this is talking about-

Brooke! What are you doing?! You know you should not-

Mom, this… this is big… we have to tell them.

No, Brooke. We cannot do that, and you know it well-

But, Dad!

It is against the rules!

The rules this! The rules that! Is that the only argument you ever after have?!

Brooke…

This is unsealed, Mom! This _is_ a new chapter! … Wait…

Brooke, we-

This is _the_ new chapter! You were deliberately postponing its narration! I can't believe it! Since when?!

Brooke, calm down-

Since when, Dad?!

…

Oh. So that's why you were acting so weird… Since then? Since the whole re-reading began? But, why? Why keeping it so long? I thought you were all on in the rule following thing!

Sweetie, we-

We were searching for something.

Wh… Something? What, Dad?

Anything.

Wha...? You know what is inside this book, don't you?

Yes, we do. We don't have the details, we haven't narrated it either but we know. We hoped we could have some answers before we inevitably had to start it.

Did you find something?

No, no matter how deep we looked or how many times we did, the books only let us look so far. There is nothing in the previous chapters we can use to help.

Brooke, sweetie, we are really sorry for keeping this from you but we did this for y-

Let's narrate it.

Come again?

We have to read it!

Brooke, the only reason your father and I haven't narrated this book is because we knew it would hurt you deeply if anything bad were to happen to your friends. Are you aware of what you are saying? Of what it means?

Yes, mom. I'm well aware of what might happen, but still I want to read it. The answers you were looking for, they may be inside this book; besides I-

These kids have proven to overcome all the hardships they've been presented to. We should give them a chance, am I right?

Yes, Dad. I trust them.

 _Sigh-_ It's decided then. Go ahead, Brooke, this one is yours.

Wha… Mom?

We _did_ promise you would narrate this one… Maybe I should bring some refreshments.

I… _sniff-_ Oh! Sorry… _sniff-_ ahem… I… I won't let you down.

We know you won't.

Thanks, Dad. Thanks, Mom.

Oh! I'll definitely bring us something now. Don't wait for me to begin, sweetie. Your father can fill me up if I miss something important. Though I'll surely just miss the whole introduction to the world of Ever After, I would gladly take a rest of them; you'll know why.

 _Giggle-_ Ok, I get it, Mom... _sigh-_ This is it.

What's wrong, Brooke?

Huh? Ah! Nothing, Dad… It's nothing. I'm just a little scared. Huh? I'm… scared. I… _sniff-_

 _Shhshsh-_ Come here, my little girl. It's ok, little couplet, it's ok to feel scared. Don't cry…

You haven't _sniff-_ called me that in a while _sniff-_

Well, you make it hard to when you show so often that brave side of you.

Brave, huh? _sniff-_

Yes. Very brave. See, it's only because of that bravery that we both get to remember that you'll always be my little couplet.

 _Giggle-_ Yes, Dad.

Calmed down a bit?

 _Sniff-_ yeah… Dad… do you mind if we read it like this? Just like when I was a kid. I feel like I'll need some support.

You're still a kid, couplet, and yes… both your mother and I will do our best to assist you. So, are you comfy and ready to give it a go?

Yes. I can do this!

Aww! Isn't this adorable? Mind if I join?

 _Giggle-_ Come here, Mom.

Sure I will. Here, I brought us something.

Thanks, Love.

All right, now that we're all ready, here I go!

Wait! So I'll still have to hear the introduction?!

 _Giggle-_ Once upon a time…

* * *

 **Hello, and nice to meet you. You can call me Yui if you like (and if you find Hopeshield too long).**

 **I'm very new to this of publishing stories on FF , so I'll gladly accept any help and advice anyone is willing lo give.**

 **Honestly, I'm not that good at commenting, and I don't think I'll be adding these 'author notes' to the whole thing (that is, if I finish). I don't even know if someone will read this, let me know if you did please ^^ (I do read author's notes btw). I'll consider this something like a foreword.**

 **Thank you very much for giving this piece of mine a chance. I promise this _is_ about Briar. Though, given the chance I would have omited the spoiler from the very tittle but you need to know to some extent what this is going to be about xD. I'm still reluctant to give any more information of what will happen, and the pairings (cuz I know, we are all here for the ships) that will appear. I'm actually not too sure myself. I'm planning on letting the pieces fall where they are meant to. **

**I promise things will be clearer next chapter (you know, chapter 01).**

 **Hope you find this worth the read.**

 **Word you later.**


	2. Ch 01- The Daughter of Sleeping Beauty

It was a nice normal day in Ever After, where the students (eager to learn) listened with ultimate attention to their lectures while in the middle of class… ehmm… well, they were in class at least. Actually everybody was in their own world, long the voice of their teachers lost in the distance. Some were wishfully looking at the clock as if their stare would make it go faster, some were doodling or 'secretly' using their mirrorphones, and most of them were daydreaming while waiting for the bell to ring. Distracted were the students of Ever After High, indeed, but no one would have claimed that the queen of this art was other than Briar Beauty.

Known very well for her … um… audacity, Briar had made it clear through her years in school that she was not one to fight her body when it happened to ask for rest. It had caused her a lot of trouble in the past and it still did from time to time. Aside from the inconvenience of falling asleep on the less appropriate situations (which would be the first annoyance anyone would think of) or missing all the cool parties, she had it pretty bad during her earlier years; before learning how being the daughter of Sleeping Beauty evoked empathy and understanding to the matter. Whether it was morning sleepiness, boredom, or pure laziness wasn't important anymore; someone would say ' _Of course she would be such a sleepyhead! She is destined to be the next Sleeping Beauty!_ ' and _poof!_ She was allowed to sleep as much as she wanted. No one would care to look deeper into it and with the passing years, it became normal.

So, yes, Briar was asleep. Briar was asleep in the middle of class. Briar was asleep in the middle of class and no one would bat an eye about it. This was how things were supposed to be. Even with the Storybook of legends gone, this was normal. Opposite to the concentrated Apple White (who must have been the only student in the whole school paying attention), Briar found Damsel in Distressing theory classes as a total snore (literally). So then again, there she was; spread on the desk, her arms stretched in front of her in the most comfortable position she could get, her head resting on her right arm with an unladylike single line of drool trailing its way down to the unlucky textbook right below her face.

Once again, no one would have found this weird nor would anyone have tried to do anything about it. Not even Madam Maid Marian could care, less get offended by the situation. Therefore we can only imagine the unhexpected it was for the unconscious princess to feel a poke at her side. Who would dare? Why would they? I mean even I'm surprised at this!

Brooke...

Oh right! Sorry… ahem… The poke was enough to wake Briar enough for sort of rational thinking but she did not move. As unusual as it was the gesture may have been an accident of some sort. Yeah, that was the logical explanation her half asleep brain could get, so she brushed off the thing. She was about to let herself fall onto the arms of Morpheus once again when her side was disturbed once more, making her flinch a little this time. The third time earned a furrowed brow, the following ones produced grumbles and indistinct mumbles.

It wasn't until the perpetrator spoke that Briar officially acknowledged her.

"Wake up already, Briar," quietly said the young girl sitting to her left. It was funny how she still showed consideration to the teacher and the rest of the class ' _As if all the movement and my grumbles hadn't already brought attention to us,_ ' thought Briar.

"You are doing it wrong," was the answer she gave. With her eyes still closed, she could hear the intruder swift a little.

"What do you mean? Are you sleep-talking?" There it was again; that annoyed but still quiet voice. The sleeping princess couldn't help but chuckle a little, she then fully stretched her arms in front of her letting a moan or two announce she was finally awake. Without rush, Briar yawned while folding her arms to give her head a new pillow. Facing her left, she finally spoke again:

"You are supposed to wake me up with a kiss, Cerise," Briar opened her left eye only, letting a grin on her face at the sight of a baffled red hooded girl.

"Yup, you are still dreaming. You can count me out of whatever after is going on in that little head of yours." Chuckling once more, the princess got up from her desk. She stretched her back, pleasant at the sound of it popping.

"Nope, you should have thought about it before bothering me," nonchalantly said Briar, while putting herself in check (and whipping the drool off her face).

"Thanks for the warning, I won't do it again then," this is ridiculous, why did she wake her up in the first place? Oh… sorry I'll continue…

"Well, now I'm up. What is it?" Briar wanted to add 'It better be important' but she thought her tone had implied it enough. Being honest, she was feeling grumpy, but she didn't want to mess things with this girl. Based on previous experiences she found that hanging with Cerise was quite fun, even if they hadn't really done it much and they weren't even near close. Since Cerise didn't seem to be particularly close to anyone; though her friendship with Raven, Maddie, Cedar, and Daring recently was well known; Briar had come to the conclusion it was just the hooded girl's 'thing'. Whether they could be called 'friends' was still up in the air, but she didn't want to miss her chance at it. So basically… Cerise was Briar's 'friend crush'.

"If it was because of class, don't worry, I've already studied the book through to chapter 12 and I know there will be a test coming soon, I'm just covering the attendance requirement. You'll agree that theory classes aren't very hexiting and-"

"I wanted to ask… " interrupted Cerise. ' _Well, isn't this adorable?_ ' Thought Briar at the sight of the red girl fidgeting, she let her head rest atop of her hand and indulged herself a little more on the scene before her.

"Go ahead, girl." said Briar once she was satisfied, curious at whatever was so important for someone to take the time to wake her up. Maybe her expectations where a little too high because she almost could hear them crashing onto the floor when Cerise finally spoke:

"Why were you sleeping?"

Briar raised her head from her hand and gave the girl what she was sure was the most confused look she had ever given someone.

"I just told you, I already know this so I don't really need to be paying attention. If you need proof maybe I can help you study sometime before the test or something." Briar confidently answered while gesturing to her book as if to make emphasis.

"No, it's fine, I believe you… but that's not what I asked."

"Oh, the class was boring me to eternal sleep, know what I mean? I also told you this, are you sure you are not the one half asleep between us?" Counter attacked Briar, trying to bring a little humor to the strange tension Cerise's seriousness was building.

"That's not nice, I agree though," the hooded girl's chuckle reassured Briar ' _see, normal conversation, nothing weird-_ '

"But again, that's not what I asked." Ugh… Briar finally gave up, and let an exasperated look fall on her face. What was it that Cerise wanted from her?! Was she bored too and wanted to entertain herself messing with someone? Not likely though, this is Cerise we are talking about… But still, since she didn't know her that well she couldn't be so sure. The frustrated girl looked back into the hooded girl's gray eyes, searching, scanning, reading them but all she could find was honesty. There was no way those eyes were trying to pull her leg. Not having much option, Briar stated (what she thought was) the obvious, making sure her tone reflected that it was obvious:

"Daughter of Sleeping Beauty," she said while pointing at herself with her right hand, her stare not leaving those gray eyes.

Silence fell upon them. Briar waited patiently for Cerise to resume whatever she was doing before waking her up, as a confirmation of her question being answered. She wanted the red girl to acknowledge somehow that she made a dumb question; an 'O _h! Silly me!' 'Of course!' 'Oh! Sorry, I forgot,_ ' or anything holding a similar meaning. She searched again at Cerise's face but after a considerable amount of time with no answer Briar rolled her eyes and returned her head to her hand, friend crush be damned. Looking now up front and paying attention to their surroundings, the sleepy princess noticed some heads turning: they had caught the attention of quite some people in the classroom, surely the teacher had noticed too. She wondered if their hushed voices had made it any better or if they may have as well been yelling at each other faces. She hoped at least the contents of their… umm… conversation had remained at hers and the red girl's ear reach only. She was starting to catch on what the teacher was saying (now that she was awake and all) when…

"So?" Came again that little voice from her left. That was it. Briar snapped:

"Fairy Godmother, Cerise! What in Ever After do you want from me?!" How had she found that hushed voice cute before was beyond her now; unfortunately it wasn't the only thing she had forgotten.

"Miss Beauty, Miss Hood, If you could please take your conversation somewhere more appropriate. I could overlook a little murmur but seeming like you are not going to keep it down, I'll need to ask you to leave or it is detention–" _Ding, Ding-_ Saved by the bell! Thankfully time for class was over and as the students made it to leave the classroom Madam Maid Marian's offense died down. "Ok! Class dismissed, girls. Remember there is a test coming, so please take the time to study…"

Briar let a sight out. That was the first time she was called for making too much noise; ' _That was quite the rush… and not the good kind,_ ' thought Briar before turning irately to her left only to find an empty seat. Yeah, Cerise was fast, not the time to appreciate that though; ' _That little… when I catch her…_ ' started the beauty while getting her things as fast as she could.

"What was all that about?" Asked a concerned Apple, who approached her BFFA just outside the classroom where the whole ordeal had just happened.

"I've got no time, Apple. Where's Cerise?"

Woah… pretty straight to it, huh? Ups! Ahem… Apple was still a little worried, but she knew better and decided to let her BFFA be. Certainly those outbursts of passion where just … well Briar, and assuming by the way she pronounced the other party's name, Apple knew it was best to not get in the way of her hunt.

"I guess she probably went back to her dorm, you will never after catch her there though," responded Apple with a little of humor, amused by her friend's irascible reactions; however, the girl to be queen couldn't manage not being of help so she promptly added: "but! She has bookball practice today, maybe you can get her in the field." Apple winked knowingly to Briar as she decided to step aside, her vision quickly refocusing on someone who made her face glow with happiness.

"Hext me when this is over or else I'll get worried, ok? Charm you later!"

"Thanks, Apple!" was the only thing Briar could say to her now accomplice before taking her leave.

' _Why was I sleeping? Huh?'_

* * *

Mom? Dad? Hmm… _chuckle-_ Well, I bet all the stress of re-reading and keeping secrets took a stroll on them. I don't know if I can say this about myself, but I feel like I'm doing pretty well so far. If I can keep it up, I don't see why I can't continue while they sleep.

There is still some time before Briar gets to the field so maybe I can- Oh, who am I kidding? Where's Maddie? Ah! There! Going down the stairs in the entrance of the school! Maddie!

"Oh! Hello Brooke!"

Are you busy? This won't take more than a couple of minutes but I don't want to get in your way or any-

"Nope. I was just in my way to meet Kitty and Lizzie at the Tea Shoppe. What's up there?"

Maddie, everybody is looking at you. Maybe I should tell you when you are not walking down a busy street.

"Enough with the worry flurry, I don't care, really!"

I'll admit that smile can convince anyone that you have no worries in this world.

"And in no other either. So, what's the hatter?"

Oh! I found out what my parents were hiding. It was not a picture by the way. It was a new chapter!

"A new chapter?! Wait… chapter as in what? Because you have to admit… we use that term pretty often around here for like a thousand different things."

 _Chuckle-_ Yeah, you are right. Chapter as in… chapter… I… It's not important! The important part is that they are letting me narrate this one!

"That's hat-tastic, Brooke! I know you'll do great, you always do."

Again with the convincing smile, I see. Thanks. I wish I could tell you more, but that would be a spoiler… _Gasp-_ Look at me, abiding by the rules already!

"You are becoming a fine narrator; I don't see anything bad with that."

Yeah, I wouldn't count on it being permanent. Without letting out much, I want you to know I may need your help in the future. I wanted to know if I can count with you when that time comes…

"Of course you can, silly! That's what friends are for!"

Thanks again, Maddie. Well, I gotta go! You are almost there too, so… I'll see you later, ok?

"I won't see you later then!"

Right… you won't. _Chuckle-_

* * *

"I'm sorry. You were angry so I thought it was best for me to leave." Cerise was caught by Briar near the south entrance to the field and now was leaning on the wall at her right, hoping the angle could hide her from the other members of the bookball team who were already training. She could have easily dodged the angry princess, but she reconsidered as it seemed her last decision to flee had backfired.

"Save it, Cerise." Said Briar, closing her eyes and gesturing the other girl to stop any attempt to speak with her hand. Then severe as she looked, she held the stare of those gray eyes again.

"I just want to know, what was all that about. Why did you ask me that? For starters."

"Well, I was just curious. I didn't mean to offend you or anything." Cerise shifted her weight and hid herself in her hood, as if the confession was embarrassing.

"Explain, girl. Apologies can wait." Briar stated, trying her best at keeping her mind far from her new weakness for this girl's shy gestures. Thought it was obvious her anger had fallen considerably.

"It's just… well…" The red girl fiddled her hood a little more before letting out a big sigh, getting smaller on the wall; her body directly reflecting how she felt under the sight of the princess. However (and to Briar's surprise), making up her mind, Cerise took a deep breath and slowly let the air go while standing straight; reminding herself of who was taller.

"I was wondering why you were willingly sleeping so much, and using your destiny as the reason behind it when you've made it clear: you don't want to follow on Sleeping Beauty's steps and sleep for a hundred years."

Gray finally met mauve, and in silence read them. From surprised to infuriated, with a split second of hurt just in between. Cerise kinda regretted what she just had said.

"And what do you know?! Willingly?! You…" Briar scoffed a little before realization came to her: "Why do you know about that in the first-? Oh. Raven wasn't it? I should have known-"

"No. Raven didn't tell me, she would never betray anyone's trust. I just… kind of overheard that time in Wonderland." Cerise returned to her fiddling in her small posture.

"Overheard, huh?" Strangely Briar looked back at the hooded girl, looking convinced, still angry nonetheless.

"Yeah… ahem details aside, I was just surprised that the same person who dropped the Story Book of Legends would so easily defend her destiny when it is convenient."

Cerise wasn't saying these things with ill intentions, Briar could tell as much; that knowledge, however, didn't help ease the increasing indignation that built inside the girl in pink.

"I mean, with the old book gone you don't have to follow your destiny anymore, and you are free to find your own happily ever after-"

"Is that all? You are just going to parrot Raven's motto? You Rebels think that's all that matters. You would blindly follow those words to your own end. You think it's all a matter within the heart and that everything will just go smoothly. You think that applies to everyone… It's not fair. It just isn't fair. Even with the book gone, even if we all can choose…" Briar locked sights with the now quiet girl once more: "not all of us are in the freedom to do so."

"Briar…? I…"

"Save it, Cerise. Just… just keep yourself out of other's business." And with that, the girl in pink left without sparing even a good bye.

Baffled and alone, Cerise walked to the field, her eyes fixated on the grass. Daring met her a little earlier than the rest.

"The old man is going to kill you for being late, Cerise… is everything all right?" He suddenly changed his tone looking at his friend's face.

"What the actual hex?" was the only thing the red girl said before sprinting at full speed.

I'm not one to usually agree… but what the actual hex? Indeed.


	3. Ch 02- Hide and seek

Love, wake up. We fell asleep just in the middle of…

 _Yawn-_ What? Oh! I'm sorry sweetie we didn't mean to… Did we miss something?

 _Chuckle-_ Don't worry, Mom and Dad. I would say you missed something interesting rather than important.

Mind giving us a recap then?

Ok! In the last chapter Cerise woke Briar up in the middle of class with a mysterious question that shook the beauty's floor. After getting called for making too much noise, Briar went hunting for the red girl. She managed to catch her in the field before the bookball team practice asking for an explanation only to leave in an enraged outburst asking the hooded girl to mind her own business. Now both girls are angry and confused respectively. With Cerise's question still unanswered, what will become of these girls' fragile … umm… bond?

Oh! It is interesting, indeed, sweetie. Not that falling asleep shows it well.

Please do continue, Brooke. We'll try to stay awake for the whole thing this time.

Yes, Dad! Ahem… The following days Briar decided it was better to outright avoid Cerise until the whole ordeal faded out. The princess thought it wouldn't be such a challenge considering how small their interactions were so far. Sure they shared space within the school but that was mostly it. They had classes together too but; ' _let's see, Damsel-in-Distressing, Hexonomics, Tall-tale studies and… what else?'_ Briar couldn't even remember them all as if proving their poor interplay. They always took seat in different tables at the castleteria even while now having friends in common and being considered from the same circle (due to the Snow White duo), they seemed to never coincide. It was the same even while participating in events outside school grounds; that time at the Spring Fairest they barely spoke to each other and they stayed in the same group most of the time, not even the cat-astrophe that sprung that day opened their ways of communication. Had they ever met outside school activities? Hex! When was the last time they ran into each other in the hallways and exchanged greetings? Off course knowing so many people as Briar did would lead to leaving some relationships behind an unattended but this was riddle-iculous! Nonetheless, this situation should have played unhexpectedly to the princess favor and she was counting on it to do so.

"My Crown…!" dragged Briar in a hushed vexed voice hiding her face with her hand and shrinking in her seat. A certain girl in red had approached their table and was now sitting down right next to her; waving some small 'hello' gestures around and starting conversation about some school matter or another with Briar's companions. It was a really nice day; ' _perfect for hanging outdoors'_ in the words of her BFFA; so the brunette princess didn't object when Apple brought up going to Beanstalk Bakery instead of their usual choice. She was now regretting not fighting for her triple-extra-cream at Hocus latte a little more.

They had run into Raven and Maddie on their way, and while Maddie had needed to go no hatter what, the pushover of a witch had given in to Apple's insistence on accompanying them. No problem whatsoever. Briar liked Raven, she was always an entertaining companion; it was refreshing how well her sarcasm effortlessly played along thick-headed Apple. However, the witch's presence had allowed the _unwonted_ event of Cerise getting close to the pink dressed princess; which, in case it was not clear by now, was unacceptable (not that anyone knew or was to blame). Moreover, the status of _uncommon_ was starting to sound inappropriate when referring to this events, since they had been becoming more usual than not. In what counted like a week and felt like much longer since the … 'question's incident' Cerise had been literally everywhere Briar went.

Remembering now, the avoidance had proven to be a royally difficult task. Classes, the castleteria, at the lifairy, in the halls, at the dorms, even at the Glass slipper and now while hanging with friends; the red hood haunted her like a bad decision. Off course they hadn't talked, not even once, and the pink princess managed to avoid eye contact at the very least but she was on the verge of losing it. Briar was tired, exhausted even; keeping her emotions in check was draining her. She didn't feel like staying awake or like looking for adventures, her now regular rushes being enough to last for a day.

The situation had turned so obviously contrary that Briar couldn't help but wonder who was in control of it all. Should it be karma, it was probably making it out for all the occasions they didn't met before in the most unsuitable moment of all; should it be God, He was probably laughing so much at her at the tick; but the entirety of her senses tempted her to guess it was a certain gray eyed girl's doing all along.

Briar knew she was probably being a little paranoid, the feeling fed by recent events, but it was certainly fishy how their encounters could only take place by Cerise's course of action. It hurt to think the reason for their now frequent meetings was the red girl's willingness to get near her; meaning them being scarce in the past was because she was being avoided. Well, sure, maybe Cerise was avoiding her before but, isn't Briar trying to avoid her now? I don't think she has the right to feel wounded at the possibility-

Brooke.

Oh! Right… Anyways, Briar wanted to run away. Regardless of the uncertainty of whether she was being pursued or not, the princess pride pushed her to keep this behavior of hers. She was not going to admit defeat, not after putting such a fight to not meet this girls eyes; things between them would be awkward if they needed to.

After quietly expressing herself, making sure no one noticed and regaining her normal posture; Briar glanced at Cerise several times before setting on peering her from the corner of her eyes with a barely noticeable frown. She was expecting to see some display of discomfort, the tiniest sign her message was getting across; but, much to the princess surprise, the hooded girl was acting normal. She seemed to be having fun, chatting with Raven and Apple. Further inspection revealed she was obviously the quiet type, more of a listener than a conversationalist, _'not that it comes as much of a surprise… although...'_ Briar had to admit the red girl managed to balance it well between reactions, contributing with small lines and jokes, and taking sips of her tea. Cerise was quiet and reserved; however, the brunette princess found fascinating how those characteristics instead of making her presence weak made her more appealing. Sure, she acted shy from time to time but there was an undistinguishable glint of confidence in every move of the hooded girl; ' _something proud and intense…'_ thought Briar as she turned her head, allowing herself a little more of the red girl's figure, _'… something almost…'_ tracked the princess before Cerise looked back and caught mauve with gray _'…fierce.'_

"Briar?" came the voice of Apple punching her back into reality. Although she was a little surprised, the princess reaction was limited to turning her eyes to the blonde at the sound of her name. Her friend's blue eyes, showed concern _'Nothing to worry about, this is practically her neutral face…'_ joked the brunette to herself.

"Oh! Sorry my mind was somewhere else. What was it again?" Responded the pink princess without a hint of nervousness, she was being completely sincere and was telling the truth; thought she had to take a sip of her forgotten tea, her throat suddenly dry for some reason. Raven took up on that:

"That's probably already cold…" late warned the purple haired girl, with a trail of amusement in her tone near the end of her phrase matching with Briar's unladylike 'gross' gesture after taking her sip.

"Yeah, you've been off for a while now. Maybe I can warm that up for you." Continued the witch as her hand flared up in that representative purple flame of hers.

"No, it's fine." Blurted Briar finding a way to get out of there a little, enough to self reprimand herself for breaking her no-gray-eye-contact streak.

"I should have tried this place caramel frappuccino to begin with; I'm not that into tea." I hope Maddie never hears her say that… oh! Sorry… The princess continued while rising from her seat, Raven's flame fading away while understanding nods were send to the now standing princess way. Turning to leave, Briar added: "Maybe, I'll bring some cupcakes while I'm on i-" interrupted by a sudden wave of drowsiness that cut her normal functioning. As she felt her body losing strength and her eyes shutting, an imminent meeting with hard concrete in her near future, Briar heard between the sudden commotions the quick screech of a chair dragged on the floor; a pleasant earthy smell being the last thing she perceived before completely losing consciousness.

* * *

"Got her! No worries people! This happens all the time!" announced Raven to the worried passersby. Apple gave her a soft pat in the shoulder as if proudly saying ' _That's my witch,'_ to which the purple haired girl reacted by looking back with knowing eyes; both of them with soft smiles on their faces.

On the other side of the table… um…

My, that's… um… interesting _chuckle-_

Ahem… well, maybe now I should go get some more refreshments… hungry, anybody? You bet I am! I'll be right back, don't mind me keep going, ok? I don't mind!

 _Pfft-_ really, don't mind him, sweetie; your father can be a little shy sometimes.

 _Ahem…_ On the other side of the table, resting in a dim purple aura, laid a safe Briar breathing softly. Thankfully, Raven magic-reflexes had improved with practice and she was able to catch the sleeping girl before even her knees touched the ground, so she was being held in an almost vertical position. The _funny_ part, however, wasn't Briar's unusual sleeping posture but the very awake one from the red girl just in front of her. Since the brunette princess was passing by her right just before she almost fell, Cerise instinctively acted the fastest she could. In her sudden standing she had sent her chair far from them both, and stepped into Briar's space, her right arm extended to catch her from the middle. They would have certainly made contact, had Raven reaction not caught faster than hers. However, they were cut by barely a spell; enough for it to look like one of those angry stare face to face confrontations, only none of our girls had an expression near anger in their faces.

Although she was taller, Cerise's slightly bent knees, in an attempt for better support to catch the falling girl, and Briar's floating status due to Raven's magic had left their faces in a close up, both of their noses almost grazing on each other's cheek; velvety breaths dancing in the space between them. Just after noticing most of their bodies were equally proximate, Cerise's world stopped for a chapter.

In the few ticks they stayed that way, the hooded girl's senses went mad as she felt hyper conscious of herself, of her surroundings and most importantly of the beauty in front of her. She felt the calm wave of heat shared from the closeness of the other's chest, as it mildly expanded with an entrancing controlled rhythm, opposite to her own breathing which was now uneven and increasing; her hand almost traced the small of the girl's waist, curious fingertips held prisoners in a fist after fidgeting in response to the notion; and her hidden ears involuntarily twitched attentive to every peaceful sound. It wasn't until she took a deep breath, filling herself with the scent of it all, that she finally took a step back. Cerise's eye color flicked gold and went back to gray for a couple of times before the girl placed her right hand atop her face and fixed her hood with the other, trying to get a hold of herself.

"Yeah, I got royally scared the first time I saw it too." Said Apple with a sympathetic look at the hooded girl, unintentionally reassuring her that her behavior had been misunderstood.

"There we go." Expressed Raven as she finished carefully placing the unconscious girl back in her chair, leaving her head resting on the table. Cerise retrieved her chair from where it went flying and took her seat too. That moment had been so brief, yet so … _full_ ; full of sensations, yes, but also full of knowledge. The quiet girl felt a bit of guilt and kept her sight low while holding her lonely cup of tea.

"So… this is a regular thing?" the question almost sounded like an apology.

"Oh, it is… it has been like this since we were in Nursery rhyme school…" Responded Apple with what seemed she intended as a light tone. Weird enough, _Destiny's_ most passionate follower, the one who spoke freely of her own poisoning with the most carefree smile to show, couldn't keep the anguish out of her face when directly addressing her dearest friend's decrees.

The silence remained longer than intended. Cerise's gray eyes stared blank at the space in front of her hands. Frowning after some thinking, the red girl furiously stabbed the inside of her mouth with her fang, intending for the pain to drown her shame, bits of her say in their last conversation coming back to torment her.

"Yup, that's how things have always been." Repeated the blonde princess now sounding resigned; then, she hesitated to continue, carefully eyeing Raven at her side summoning the girl's sight to herself, her downcast expression pulling her eyes somewhere in the feathers of the witch's dress. Then she sadly added:

"That's how things were supposed to be." Raven's gentle hand promptly took Apple's and invited her to look up again, tender violet eyes waiting to show how proud they were of her. Cerise finally raised her head and addressed the duo.

" _Were, y_ ou said it yourself: _were_ not _are_. The book is gone. The choice is ours, isn't it?" calmly questioned the red girl, more to herself than to anyone else, still she gestured with her hand anticipating a confirmation; when one didn't come, she hopefully insisted, a little frown making her look less calm, "isn't it, Raven?"

"Ye… yes, the book is gone… but-"

"Then why is this still affecting her?" inquired again the hooded girl, seeking for the meaning behind her friends hesitation.

"I… I don't know." Came the answer, throwing the holder as a long due realization. Before the asker could even word her regret for making the witch feel small, the girl-to-be-queen stepped in, the manifest of her nobility reminding them of the great leader who directed the fight against the Evil Queen while riding a dragon.

"Cerise, we, both Raven and I, decided to liberate all of us from the Story Book of Legends hexpecting for everyone to be free to choose their own destiny; but we didn't consult anyone before doing so. Honestly, we didn't know what would be the outcome of ripping off the pages from the ancient magical relic that literally ruled the life of complete generations until now, and certainly we still don't." Apple took a deep breath to calm herself, noticing how dangerously close she was of speaking louder than she should. She took a firmer hold of Raven's hand and she continued, her voice considerably softer:

"I would be lying if I said the fear of disappearing in a _poof_ didn't cross my mind at the time. Maybe things went better than expected, but maybe they didn't go completely as they were intended. Not all fairytales are the same; it's only natural for them to have different endings."

Cerise's pain clenched while looking at Briar's sleeping face resting on the table, remembering all the pains the girl took trying to flee from her fate, and those were only the ones she overheard. Messing with the inside of her mouth once more, the hooded girl mechanically raised her hand nearest the sleeping princess and gently placed it over her pink and caramel tresses.

"So, at the end, some still can't choose; some of us may still be stuck being the son or … the daughter…" finally responded the red girl, taking a pink lock and slowly sliding her fingers through it while drawing it closer to herself until she reached the tip; then she placed her hand over the table once more, fiddling with the end of the ringlet.

"Well, that is truly unfair." She quietly added as if just addressing the girl just beside her. With the table's atmosphere comfortless once again, Raven raised the voice of hope:

"I still believe we all have choices, Cerise, but some of us are yet to take them. No one can know the future, but we can act upon it when it comes. Briar's time will come, just as it will for the rest of us; we just have to be patient and brave." The witch almost beamed when her friend finally looked up, renovated hope in her eyes.

"Besides, fate or not, we can't just sit and feel sorry for ourselves. That's Briar's lesson to us, 'we better live it up now!' right?" backed up Apple, making a silly but perfect impersonation of her party-lover friend. Cerise chortled at that, nodding repeatedly in agreement and amusement. _'Well that's better, but let's break this tension for good…'_ Thought Raven a mischievous eyebrow and grin taking place.

"So, Cerise… care to explain about that." Chirped the purple girl, pointing her index finger at the girl's hand; the one tenderly holding the pink tress. The exposed girl looked a little confused at the remark and then she peered at her hand. Still not quite understanding, she looked back, reencountering with Raven's teasing expression and finding a new one on Apple; who to top it all was also giggling. Realization came a little delayed, and her face grew hot; she let go of the sleeping princess' hair before starting:

"Oh, hex! That. Sorry… I… I have a thing for it… For petting! I have a thing for petting… you know, animals and people alike… since I like them… Animals! I like animals! See I have Carmine, so I do it often and before I noticed it started happening with people. So it has become sort of a habit; a big bad one. Cedar is used to it by the way… I think I'll go for another drink." She finally stopped and escaped to the counter, pulling her red hood to her face the whole time.

"I for once think that was beyond petting." said Apple once Cerise was far enough from their table.

"You don't say." Retorted Raven taking a golden tress and raising it to her lips.

On the other side of the table a pink princess slept soundly with a soft smile.

* * *

I'm back. Is it over?

 _Chuckle_ \- The chapter or the scene, you prude?

What? I just thought you may be getting hungry so I… I don't think this is fair, Love.

Shh! Mom, Dad, it's time, your discussion can wait!

"You are doing it wrong again, Cerise. How many times until you do it correctly?" Answered Briar after a new series of poking at her sides; ' _It's like a déjà vu'_ thought the pink girl to herself while stretching _._

"Not gonna happen, princess. It's late, we should go." Countered the hooded girl rolling her eyes and letting out a sigh. After stretching enough and clearing her sight Briar looked around and found herself sitting on a bench at Book End, the sunset at its last moments before letting the darkness of night to take over. The question was not necessary, the princess had dealt with this her whole life. It was obvious she had been gone for more than a couple of hours and well, things had to keep going, I guess. She just stared at her feet; not even she could feel embarrassed at this point, not about falling asleep at least. On the other hand, even though she could not exactly name it, the feeling she had at the moment was pretty similar to embarrassment. See, she still didn't know where she stood with Cerise, though she believed the girl had stayed with her for a reason.

"I told the married couple I could stay with you so they went on ahead. Raven offered taking you to the dorms with them but I thought it would be a big bad problem if your landing went wrong after being teleported, and floating around in a purple light the whole way back to the dorms didn't seem like a good idea either." Explained Cerise with a hint of humor in her voice, a simple gesture the princess appreciated since it managed to help her to relax.

"I know." The princess looked up intentionally letting suspense built up after her declaration, smiling at the hooded girl's confusion. "Not many people know about this, but I can hear everything when I'm asleep, from miles and miles away; thought I don't make sense of them until I'm awake," a sinless white smile closed the explanation, an almost angelic expression capable of convincing the world 2 + 2 = less than three, and undoubtedly of swaying Cerise.

"Well I certainly didn't know." Quietly answered the red girl suddenly having a hard time looking up, feeling a little panicked after registering the meaning behind what she just heard.

"Royally cool, am I right?" Proudly added Briar, a Cheshire worthy smile appearing to unseat the pure one just before it. "So I heard it all when you professed your eternal passionate love to me, I'm really moved by the way, though it was a little cheesy for my taste." Played the tease with a lot of exaggerated matching movements to go with her provo-king game.

"I… I did not say anything like that…" retorted Cerise, finally looking up in her defense, her face uncontrollably competing with the redness of her hood, before setting on giving her teaser a light punch on her arm.

"Ow! Ow! I'm sorry, ok? Got it, you didn't!" purposely exaggerated the princess between laughs, throwing herself to the opposite side of the bench, acting as if the punch had sent her flying; glad the mood was light and friendly, happy she could play with this girl like this now; her pride beneath them.

"I'm going. You are awake now so I can leave." Responded the girl in red, standing up and making to escape, having enough of playing the wild card. _'That's spella adorable… she's pouting!'_ Thought Briar, letting her laughter die while raising and stretching to the leaving girl, quickly reaching the hood with her hand, stopping its owner from running away.

"Why don't we go together? I mean, we are heading the same direction, right?" invited the pink girl a smile still bitting her lower lip, her head to the side while inspecting the red one's figure, trying to find her face. Cerise looked back from the corner of her eye and made as if considering before giving the princess a single and slightly blushed nod. If what Briar had said before was true, there was no point in hiding it; the princess already knew. She had told the poison apple duo she also wanted to speak with the sleepy girl to finally convince them she would stay with her, so it was possible the girl in pink wanted to know what it was all about. Again, the brunette princess already knew something was up, and Cerise had time to sum it all in her head before said girl woke up; however, for some odd reason it suddenly felt embarrassing and real so it became obvious it would take a little longer to built up her courage before bringing up the topic. The walk would probably give her the time she needed. They were already several minutes on their way, all of them spent in silence, when the hooded girl finally talked.

"Want a piggyback ride?" she offered mentally slapping herself for her lack of backbone… uh… the metaphorical one.

"I don't think I want to fall asleep so soon after that, which is what will likely happen if I don't keep myself active, and don't worry it's not like I'm hurt or anything, not that I'm aware at least… maybe another time, ok?" and with that Cerise limited herself to answer with a hum. Some more walking went on before Briar continued:

"I don't want to sleep yet… and Ashlyn said she would go to the multihex with Hunter tonight… guess this calls for some solo in Call of Beauty." Time sure was taking its ticks calmly and the silence filled walk made it worse. Seriously? Why was the road to school grounds so deserted? Some people passed focused on their business, yes, but no one they knew; no one to save the red girl from this. Cerise felt like this was a test; she was being proved. What to say? What not to say? She had never felt so pressured, it was hard to tell if what she came with were good or bad ideas.

"Why don't you come over and play with us, Cedar and I love Call of Beauty, it's really satisfactory when we get to kick the spell out of some jerk." Offered Cerise after making a long pause and having processed her wording a little, though the sentiment was genuine.

"Really?! You don't mind?" asked the exited princess to the hooded girls surprise, honest doubt behind her words. Everything was so weird, just before that same day they wouldn't meet each other's eyes, and now they were about to spontaneously hang out together?

"Uh… yes. Just bring another control. We'll wait for you." Stumbled over her words the nervous girl, her response a little bit more automatic this time, the ghost of a smile passing by her lips.

"Wicked! I almost feel like forgiving you for following me around all week," confidently let out the pink girl while linking arms with her new game-buddy, feeling merciful all of a sudden.

"Wait, what? I didn't follow you around… what are you talking about?" Said an honestly baffled girl in red her voice considerably higher while turning her head; her sight furiously switching between the princess face and their linked arms.

"P-please, play innocent all you want, but do you really think I'll believe you were unusually near around me in the castleteria, the lifairy, the Glass Slipper, and the hallways just out of coincidence?" pushed the brunette princess motioning her wrist back and forth a new finger taking count at the mention of each place. Cerise retrieved her eyes from their arms and recounted in her head for a little. Then she shook her head and rolled her eyes. With an amused look on her face, she retorted:

"All tables were taken, we had a Tall-tale research paper, I ordered some new running shoes and went to pick them, and hex! I study there!" The girl in the hood couldn't help but to release a few giggles.

"Huh? Bu-"

"It sounds more like you've been more aware of me these days," unconsciously interrupted the red girl, actually feeling overjoyed at the notion. However her companion interpreted her smile as if she was trying to get a little payback from all the teasing of before.

"You cocky little red," said the princess again before being interrupted once more; Cerise's face looking solemn all of a sudden, her happy feelings giving her the push she needed.

"Briar, about that thing in class… I'm sorry. I didn't know, I-"

"It's fine, I didn't made it better either… besides, all this drama tires me out. Let's just say we are even, ok?" now interrupted Briar, reluctant to let the light mood between them to be lost, liking it better now that things were clear. She looked at Cerise's unsatisfied profile a little, waiting for it to look back at her with a smile. Giving up, the princess softly rested her forehead in the hooded shoulder of the silent girl, feeling her tense and making them stop. The pink dressed girl took a deep breath, an uncomfortable knot in her stomach, and broke the silence.

"I wanna be your friend, Cerise." There! She said it! Oh my fairy Godmother! She said it! Ahem… Briar felt a little warmer at her ears as she declared with the uncomfortable feeling still, but she pushed for an answer: "What do you say?"

The hooded girl looked away, a lvl 5 blush expanding all the way down her neck. Purposely looking away, she was now glad for the absence of people, sure an uncharacteristic and probably silly smile was dumbly spread on her face. Light headed as she felt, the red girl left the princess side with an unbearable crave to run; however she did not leap before turning to look into Briar's mauve eyes, goofy smile and all to announce:

"I say this friend is about to kick your crown in CoB, princess."

* * *

 **Hello!**

 **Wow... the lenght of this chapter is almost the same of the previous ones combined... well, you can figure why I took so long...**

 **This chapter was intended to be much darker... but I thought I may as well keep this light hearted until... it's time.**

 **I also wanted to mention I'm trying to stick the most I can to canon, so you can look up into whatever little detail I include here (Briar's ability for example); however if I make any noticeable and sinful mistake, please be sure to tell me C:**

 **Charm you later!**


	4. Ch 03- Cub steps

Brooke, don't. It's not the place of a narrator to…

I'm sorry Dad, but I have to say it, and I'm gonna do it.

Please, sweetie, listen to your father. We all know it already…

Yes, you don't have to make it more noticeable...

Nope, I need to say it: it's just… SO DUMB! why do we have to cover this specific scene in the first place?! I mean… ugh…

We know, we know… but you have to narrate everything…

Ugh… ok… but…

"C'mon, Cerise, open up!"

"Briar… you really don't need to-"

"Nu-uh! I don't wanna hear more hexcuses. _Open up_." Cerise looked up from the safety of her hood with an almost pleading expression in her eyes. After some time without an answer the princess threatened to use her final and most powerful attack.

"I'll do the train," said the pink girl menacingly.

"You wouldn't dare," responded the girl in the hood slightly frightened, feeling like hiding deeper in the red fabric.

"Oooh, wouldn't I?" A wicked smile painted across the pink princess face and an unsure turn of eyebrows in the red girl's one announced the beginning of a staring contest. Briar let white be seen while she opened her mouth to speak again as she rose her plastic fork holding a baby carrot.

"Here comes the veggie train! Choo-ch-!"

"All right, all right… Stop, please! I'll eat it… just, gimme the fork," interrupted Cerise making sure she wasn't catching more attention than they already had. She felt her stomach flip with embarrassment and then raised her hand to take the utensil.

"No, I said open up," quickly reacted Briar moving away her hand with a single wrist gesture, just placing it back when the red girl retreated letting out a sigh feeling still aware of their surroundings. Looking up at the almost sadistic stare of her companion, Cerise swallowed hard her pride (along some other emotions), and fearing another final attack she gave up.

"Fine…" was her final statement as she leaned front.

"Not that hard, was it?" playfully matched the winner's tone with the satisfaction in her face as she brought closer the carrot to the other girl's mouth. ' _This will surely kill me,'_ thought the girl in red finding it hard to look up again, her face growing hot as the carrot met her lips. Both girls stayed like that for a tick more than intended, before Cerise hesitantly opened enough to give the vegetable entrance and chomping, her eyes closed hard and with a pained look on her face. ' _Royally adorable,'_ internally fangirled the princess as she carefully retrieved her fork to poke another orange treat on her plate. Bringing it up once more, the red girl gave her yet another pained expression before repeating her last action and gobbling it up.

"I insist, Cerise, you really need to eat other than meat sometimes," said Briar as she repeated her actions too.

"I have a fast metabolism, and I work it all in my runs so-" was she quieted when another piece was forced inside her mouth, the surprise making her choke.

"I don't wanna hear it, you still need to…" proceeded the princess to give her a nutritional speech while the girl gulped some water to help the offending vegetable through.

Ugh…

Brooke…

No really, it's in the narration! Here: Ugh… showed the expression of a nearby table, one of which the pair wasn't aware was watching them closely. The red and pink girls were sitting together at the castleteria, one in front of the other, sharing their table with fairytales from some other class. Nearby were some of their friends, growing notorious of how this was a radical change from not so much once upon a time ago.

They had to admit, the scene they were witnessing was ratter dumb, not hexactly what they would expect from the odd pair. It just seemed a little off; however, they were about to just roll their eyes and continue their lunch when the obvious person to bring the obvious up spoke (as obvious).

"Don't you think it's weird?" asked Blondie Lockes from the far end of the table, "Something about them seems just not right," continued the inquiring reporter as she slightly pointed in the… uh… suspicious girls' direction.

"It sure seems kinda odd but- wait a splinter; this isn't about your suspicions of Cerise again, right? We all know how that turned out the last time," promptly answered the incapable of lying wooden girl in front of her.

"So I'm not the only one seeing it!" happily claimed Blondie once she heard what she was sure was the truth, "aaaand, no, Cedar, I really regret that chapter in my life, thank you very much for bringing it back," continued the reporter an annoyed face matching her tone.

"Ok…? So why the interest in whatever after they are up to? Lacking of news again?" inquired again the honest girl, while taking a spoonful and looking convinced.

"Indeed, not many things have happened after the… uhm… 'Summer Winter' chapter," trailed Blondie with a shrug, "it would be fablelous if another great story knocked the door, but for now I have to pursue them. That's a reporter's job!" she vigorously added. After some understanding looks, the table occupants decided to add to the conversation.

"Well, I didn't want to be the one to bring it up but it is true that Briar has been acting different these days…" Spoke Ashlynn in that sweet voice of hers, "and Hunter has mentioned Cerise acting weird too." Oh! Talking of which: Hunter had a lunch meeting with the archery club, hence his absence.

"Now that you mention it, I have noticed it too," Holly O'Hair shared with her shoe lover friend, her twin sister was next to her holding her chin in thought.

"It's probably because of Briar recently befriending Cerise, right?" said Poppy, releasing her face to take a sip of her beverage while shrugging.

"Well, that's where it becomes rare. Briar making friends, sure, normal; but Cerise…" Added once more Blondie, trailing to see the understanding in the whole table's faces. "I mean, which of us that considers to be her friend," she signaled to herself, Cedar and Ginger, "could say they've gotten _that_ close with Cerise? And so quickly too?" directly asked the reporter looking nothing but honestly curious. The other referred girls looked at each other in thought.

"I wouldn't know much about that but, they certainly make an odd pair," agreed Ashlynn with a giggle.

"A sociable party addict and a quiet lone-wolf… yeah, makes it hard to picture," responded Poppy without thinking it much, now taking a bite of her sandwich.

"Well, now it makes sense why I saw Cerise so eagerly going to the zip line," started Ginger, thinking back a little. The other girls turned to see her waiting for an explanation, since she had been the first to set an example of their friends' new behavior. Ginger looked around and felt the pressure she was given, she cleared her throat and proceeded while shrugging: "In all the years I've know her she rarely showed that level of excitement for something other than the dark forest."

* * *

 _I was heading to the cooking clubroom when I crossed paths with her in the hallway_

" _Hey! Cerise! Would you help me with my new recipe after club today? I'm about to bake something completely new to what we have tasted until now, but I'll need some mushrooms you only find in specific parts of the Dark forest. Since there is no one who knows them better than you, I was thinking of asking you to be my guide later."_

" _I'm sorry, Ginger. Can we do it another day?" I was a little surprised since she goes to the forest practically every day but I didn't think it was that weird._

" _Sure, the world has waited enough for this new flavor, of course it can wait another day. Hext me later?" I said as we both hurried our ways._

" _I'll hext you when I'm back at the dorm!" she responded and then she energetically waved while walking backwards, a big toothy smile on her face._

 _It wasn't until later that night she apologized via hext telling me she had promised a friend to ride the zip line together, and that we could go mushroom hunting the next day. I didn't know that friend was Briar… though it seems kinda obvious now._

After running into Ginger, Cerise made her way to the beginning of the highest zip line in the school. Briar was already waiting for her, getting the security belts into position.

"Took you long enough, almost felt like I needed to sleep for you to wake me up," joked the girl in pink while handing the arriving girl a helmet.

"Not funny, princess," said the hooded girl as she reached to take the security item. Cerise looked back to put on her helmet and the rest of the security gear, hiding her smile as she peered at the other girl.

"It's been a while since I've done this," commented the red girl as she approached the princess when she was ready, "actually, this will be my second time…"

"You mean that last time you jumped just after me was the first? You were lucky I left a spare of these behind…" Briar trailed pointing to her protective headwear, "you hit yourself royally hard when we landed."

"Uhm, I panicked when I thought I would crash with you, so I let go earlier than I should have," explained Cerise giggling and feeling a little embarrassed at the memory, "couldn't keep my balance."

"You scared me to death, you know?" The pink princess tone was contrastingly serious with the red girl's one, which made the later look up apologetically. Briar softly placed her right hand over her friend's head (properly protected) as she continued with a smile and a sigh, "you have no idea how relieved I felt when you stood up and ran to the forest before I could say anything."

"I'm sorry, I should have-"

"Nah, everything is fine. The good thing is that you were ok, and so we can try this once upon a time again," cut her off the princess with a roll of her eyes and an enthusiastic smile. Finally getting into position Briar looked back to Cerise once more.

"Just so you know, it would have been fairy better if you had crashed with me," and she jumped off leaving Cerise smiling to herself while waiting enough time so said accident wouldn't take place.

* * *

"At what time did she hext you back, Ginger?" Ashlynn asked to the girl at her left when she finished her explanation.

"hmm… it was kinda late, like around 10 pm," the baker answered with a puzzled look.

"Then that same day they went to town and had some lattes," added the shoe lover putting one and one together, "The zip line day Briar came late to the dorm room and apologized saying she had so much fun she had lost track of the ticks." The rest of the table listened in awe, bringing the odd combination once more and how they couldn't picture them having _that_ much fun.

The O' Hair twins shared an unreadable look and resumed their eating.

"You two!" Blondie's voice made them jump, "You have something to share too, am I right?" she asked letting her head fall to her right hand, facing left.

Poppy looked at her sis with uncertainty in an attempt to feel secure, a habit she had been developing since forever after. Holly smiled, reassuring her twin; then she placed a hand in her shoulder, "It's ok Poppy, it's not like we are badmouthing them or anything, besides it's nothing big." With the short haired sis still looking unsure, the older twin made to speak again, "aaaaaaaand" she looked at Blondie with a fierce stare " _no one_ in this table, will misuse our words," the bear girl gulped and looked away.

"Yeah, we are all friends, who would _misuse_ this information. That's just not right," the reporter conceded. Poppy looked at the blonde on the other end of the table, then back to her sister beside her and finally looked convinced; she shared her story.

"It certainly is nothing big," started the (known to be) younger twin, "I was just telling Holly the other day how Cerise came to the salon without getting anything done. A shame since I'm dying to take part in that rad look of hers. I couldn't understand it when she just said hi and kept herself in her mirrophone, she also had never come to the salon before. Briar had an appointment to fix her highlights that same day; we were almost done when Cerise arrived. It all finally made sense when they left the place together…" she ended with a shrug but then added: "It certainly seemed new, but not bad at all. Everybody is free to be friends with whomever after they see fit."

Holly nodded at her sister's words and looked up front (and her right), challenging everyone to disagree. No one dared.

"Oh! Briar told me she was going to the Multihex that day," pointed Ashlynn once more, "she told me she fell asleep for the whole thing, though," she added between sour chuckles, thinking how hopeless her friend was. The table fell into silence.

"So…" broke in Blondie, "what's your story Holly?" she prompted not willing to let this to end without giving her enough material for her mirrorcast. I'll note Blondie's dedication is admirable…

It sure is, Brooke…

"Is nothing big either," the (known to be) older twin said with a sigh, "I just noticed Briar started coming watch the Bookball team practice, she also sleeps for most of it…" Holly looked up as if trying to remember, "She've never done it before but suddenly she started going frequently, twice this week I think, and she didn't seem to be interested in one of the boys… now I think she may have been waiting for Cerise… and it kinda makes sense."

"I didn't know about that," said Ash sounding a bit surprised… "Wow, now I get Briar's sudden interest in picnics…"expressed Ashlynn without thinking it much. The table showed interest once more, to which the nature girl rolled her eyes and indulged in their curiosity.

* * *

 _I was getting ready for work at the Glass Slipper when Briar came in from the front door._

" _Epic! I'm glad I caught you here!" she said as she approached me at the back of the store._

" _Oh, hey, Briar! I was about to change the sign to open, just had to change some of these for the new merchandise," I answered while taking said shoes to the back._

" _This won't take more than a minute, I promise. Say," she said as she followed me around, suddenly sounding a little shy, which made me stop for a second; "uhmm, you picnic on a daily basis, right? Like with Hunter and so… I was wondering… what exactly do you do on a picnic?" She asked taking me by surprise. I'll admit I got a little confused and misinterpreted her question… I may have gotten a little red; whatever! She hurriedly explained herself before I could say anything back._

" _See, I'm meeting with a friend after this and we are supposed to have a picnic but… I'm not so sure of what to expect, or do." By the time I didn't think much of her mysterious friend, I was more relieved to finally understand the nature of her question._

" _Oh, I see! Well, there's nothing much to it actually. I think it's basically eating while enjoying the peace of the woods and a nice conversation, you know since it's with a friend. Hunter and I usually take walks too and make flower corollas," I answered without adding too much information, to which she nodded several times while thinking to herself._

" _So that's it?" She made sure still looking a bit insecure._

" _Yup," I reassured her with a smile._

" _Ok! I trust you, Ash. I'll be going now or I'll be late. Thanks, spell ya later!" then she rushed to the exit, "oh! And good luck with work!" she shouted before leaving, showing a big smile. Of course now it makes sense if that friend was Cerise, she seems like the kind of person who enjoys picnics._

Briar waited patiently in the woods, just in front of the dividing sign that pointed in the Enchanted and Dark forest directions. She had been somewhat earlier than the hour they had agreed but since her stop at the Glass Slipper did take just a couple of minutes she decided it didn't make sense waiting somewhere else. The princess decided to kill some time by ordering files in her mirrorphone; which led her to entertain herself with her photos of her most recent adventure. She had taken a ton with Crystal and Ashlynn after the whole thing was over, but the ones she had taken during their trip around the (frozen) world of Ever After were the ones that had her attention. She was deleting most of them since they were blurred but she couldn't bring herself to just erase this one: a picture of the prohibited room with the spinning wheel in the center. The photo was also a little blurry, more from her then shaky hands than from the sick sleigh motions its companions had been victims of. At that time she had a taste of what her destiny had in store for her, and she couldn't forget the way she felt attracted to the needle.

Briar kept staring to her screen unaware of a shadow making its way to the spot behind her, lurking, and a pair of fangs showing while creeping closer.

"What's that?" Cerise asked from behind her, softly blowing unintentionally into the princess ear, and spooking her out of her trance. Briar reacted violently letting out a shriek and raising both hands to each side of her head while jerking back, dropping her device and hitting the red girl on the face in the process. The hooded girl immediately took her offended nose into both hands and let out a whimper (dangerously similar to a pup's) before her eyes flashed gold and a growl escaped her.

"You, little red!" yelled Briar still panting from the surprise with her fists closed when she realized who the one responsible of her misfortune was yet again. Cerise shook her head fighting to control herself once more while still soothing away the pain from her nose. The princess took a breath to compose herself; she picked her mirrorphone up, checked everything was ok with it; and slowly rolled her eyes when she looked back at the hurt girl.

"Here, let me see," she said as she got closer. The red girl, still holding her nose, got alarmed by the sudden closeness fearing she could lose control again so she took a step back.

"It's ok, no need to…" Cerise tried, her watery eyes betraying her. The pink girl got close once more and spoke in a no-nonsense tone while taking hold of the other's face by the cheek and smacking the hand obstructing her sight.

"Shush, I'm an expert in these things; perks of falling everywhere. I just wanna make sure I didn't break your pretty face."

Dad, you may want to go stretch or something- _Giggle_

Oh, please I think I can… I'll be right back.

 _Giggle-_ He is a romantic. See, deep down he doesn't want to peer. Go on sweetie.

Ahem… And just like that Cerise stopped complaining. She pulled to her hood anew with her smacked hand and couldn't help her grip to get stronger as she closed her fist while the rhythm of her breathing started to speed up. Before she knew it, Briar held hostage her face with both hands, one in each cheek, looking up intensely at her… nose. The distance between their faces couldn't compare to the last time, but the touch had the same effect in the pace of seconds. Another interminable brief moment let the hooded girl take in the princess image in detail, while the later examined her just as closely. Of course the pink girl wasn't paying her the same kind of attention but the sole idea of being the only thing she could see in that moment made her incredibly happy. Following her breathing, the other symptoms started to appear. Cerise got the feeling she was getting hotter and her stomach flipped. Of course Briar would notice this time, since she was awake, so the red girl couldn't see the time to just run away.

Then, she met mauve. Briar was awake. Briar was awake so by all means her eyes were open. The girl in the hood relaxed… more like got entranced. She couldn't get enough of that color, of that light, of that dept. For all she knew, she could just stare at those orbs forever after. But right when she had just stopped thinking, allowing her body to recover its normal flow, the princess looked back at her. Their sights met surprising the red girl and making her tense up. Still trapped in that view, Cerise stood quiet. In an instant Briar smiled at her and released her face. She then raised a hand and softly flicked the other girl's nose, the magic of the previous seconds lingering still.

"You are fine, but let this teach you a lesson: you shouldn't creep people like that." The pink girl crossed her arms and tilted her head to the side, "we would have avoided all that if you had just appeared from the front," she finished with a giggle.

"Yes, ma'am," answered Cerise, unable to think of a comeback of any sort.

Still a little dizzy the hooded girl greeted again and led the way to the spot she had prepared for their dat-… uhmm… friendship picnic. The rest of it went just as Ashlynn had told Briar; they ate while having a nice chat (though Cerise's buffet basket made it all the more impressive). However, enjoying the sounds of nature and the warmth of the sun that made its way through the leaves of the trees above them could only do so much for Briar. Without notice, just like it had happened at the Beanstalk bakery, the princess fell asleep.

"… and then I told Blondie to-" stopped Cerise when she felt Briar's head resting on her shoulder. They were both lying upon the tree behind them in a rather comfortable position, so the suddenness didn't scare them like last time. The red girl looked to her side and paid attention to the pink one's sounds again letting them play along hers. She then smiled and looked around, before resting her head against Briar's.

"Well, I guess… this is nice too…" She finally expressed, before closing her eyes, slowly letting drowsiness take her away too.

* * *

"So that's it? No evil plans? No conspiracies?" Blondie stood with a non-believer tone, raising her voice too much and catching the attention of the passerby.

"Blondie!" all girls singed in a chorus; Cedar and Holly looked irritated, Ginger and Poppy amused, and Ashlynn unsurprised.

"What? I'm sorry I can't help it!" the reporter expressed with a shrug and an unashamed face. She then sat down again, looked up front and stared at Cedar.

"Oh! Don't look at me like that. I only know we've been playing Call of Beauty together every other day," the wooden girl spoke before being asked anything, letting the truth out.

"Really?" inquired Blondie as if she didn't know this girl was incapable of lying.

"Yup!" Answered once more the Pinocchio descendant, a pleasing smile on her face.

"You seem awfully content with that… It kinda pisses me off," the blonde admitted looking away and finally paying attention to her lunch.

"Well, the less I know…" trailed Cedar, "but honestly Blondie, you may be too used to the out the page news if it is getting you like this."

"Well, what am I supposed to show in my show then?" the reporter openly asked looking sincerely lost. The girls around her looked at each other unsure again; all of them but Ashlynn.

"Sweetie… what did you showed in your mirrorcast before all the non-peculiar events occurred?" the glass slipper princess asked sweetly earning a confused look of the blonde. Blondie thought for a second before answering still doubtful:

"About school issues and outstanding students…?"

"So? What have changed since then?" Ash pushed with a smile, "Are those things not important anymore?"

"It's not that they are not important is just…"

"Then what is holding you back? The Blondie I know has never been stopped by a door or any lock."

"What if the fairytales think it's boring? What if it's not enough?" The reporter finally let out. Ashlynn stood from her seat and went to where the confused girl taking her plates with her. Reaching the far end of the table she placed a hand in the girls shoulder and kindly said:

"Were you ever concerned about it when you started?"

Everyone stayed frozen for a moment.

Then, filled with energy, Blondie stood up with a bang; surprising them all. Was she angry? Was she about to slap Ashlynn? Million of possibilities ran across the girls' minds, every single idea worse than the one before it, but… Nope! Blondie raised her head with a face full of determination and a reporter's smile.

"Thanks Ashlynn!" she hugged said girl in a jump and squeezed hard before letting go.

"Go get them, Miss reporter." Said Ash with a wink. Blondie made to leave as she turned back and called to Cedar:

"I'm gonna need a cameraman!"

"fhut! Ahm noft thone!" tried the wooden girl obstructed by a mouthful of her muffin.

"Oh, I'll ask Cupid to help!" quickly resolved the blonde as she turned and left in a rush, "Thanks everyone! Charm you later!" And just like that Blondie left the castleteria… leaving everyone dumbfounded as to what had happened, not fearing to express it.

"What in Ever After did just happen?" Holly said as she blinked and shared looks with Cedar (still chewing) and Ginger; her sister standing with their plates and noticing Blondie's almost untouched meal abandoned on the table.

"Ashlynn?" Holly pushed for an answer.

"Don't worry," said girl giggled as she noticed the bowl in the table too, "She'll be just right."

* * *

 _Hello, Fairytales! Here Blondie Lockes with more controversial student issues. Today's topic: Are the Rebel and Royal factions clearly separated anymore? Is there a separation at all?_

 _Previously; rebels and royals wouldn't even meet eye to eye, resulting in friendships being restricted to within members of the same side. With everything that has started since Legacy year, the students of Ever After high have experienced a series of changes in the way they see things in comparison to the perspective of our ancestors. Fortunately most of the adventures of our generation's leaders from both factions (AKA Apple White and Raven Queen) have been witnessed in this very mirrorcast followed by yours truly. Which leads us to our question once more: If the very destined princess and villain from a fairytale are capable of so much by sticking together and caring for one another, should there be any barriers for anyone to share a bond with whoever they see fit?_

 _Well, I'm ready to find out: On today we set the example of the rumored new friendship between Briar Beauty and Cerise Hood! Let's see some answers!_

 _Maddeline Hatter (hanging upside down from a branch while holding a cup of tea): Why, I believe it's a tea-rrific idea! More friends should be friends, and get together for tea._

 _Lizzie Hearts (playing cards with some friends in the school's stairs): I think it's great for them to be friends. But maybe it's because in Wonderland there is nothing such as weird combinations._

 _Duchess Swan (dancing in her lake): Briar will sleep for a hundred years anyways, is not like their friendship will last._

 _Dexter Charming (out in the balcony): Well, both Briar and Cerise are really nice, it's only natural they would like to hang with each other._

 _Sparrow Hood (playing his guitar as usual): THE HOOD FAMILY TOTALLY ROCKS!_

"Wow, your cousin really takes pride in your family's name, huh?"

"You bet."

Cerise and Daring sat comfortably in the bookball field, appreciating the coolness of the grass underneath them. They were taking a rest from their special training; there was no actual practice that day, but shortly after Cerise had joined the team, she and the prince agreed on helping each other improve. The girl helped him practice with the aim and the length of his throws and he helped her practice catching and evading. Their self imposed sessions were way more rigorous than the usual practice but, what else would you expect from two of the most athletic students in Ever After? They usually practiced all the way until the sky painted orange but that day Daring noticed something was odd. Cerise had missed most of his throws, some of them even hit her, and she had even tripped with her own feet once (one too many from the usual). The prince overlooked it all thrusting the words of the red girl telling him she was fine, but he finally called it off when Cerise took one of his full force tackles and fell to the ground in pain. 'Ok! That's it! You are gonna tell me what's wrong. No buts,' he said, taking the role and tone he once upon a time used with his little sister. It seemed awfully fitting considering that was practically what the big guy represented to Cerise: a bit overprotective (and smug) big brother. So taking a seat to both rest from the hard working routine and sooth away the pain of the fall, the girl in the hood surrendered and showed him what got her mind trapped.

"So Blondie got you on her sight again; is that what is worrying you?" asked Daring while leaning back on his arms.

"Well… I've never liked catching too much attention…" Cerise answered copying her friend's posture and tilting her head far from his sight.

"You seem completely fine in games, though," he pointed sounding doubtful.

"But those are different, it's…"

"yeah I know… and I kinda get how it feels to be on the spotlight with the wrong kind of attention," the prince admitted while letting his head fall back to look at the sky, remembering when the camera didn't help to bring him back on his feet and felt more like it was kicking him when he was down.

"hmm, to be honest I'm glad they aren't pestering you anymore, Daring," the red girl confessed with an honest and sweet smile also recalling the way murmurs followed him when he turned not to be what everybody thought.

RECAP! For those who don't remember: last chapter Daring was down since everyone knew his kiss failed to wake Apple from enchanted sleep and Ever After got frozen over because The Ice King got cursed by his ill intentioned servants. In his kind blindness he happened to curse Daring; turning him into the new Beast! However, when everything was almost over and thanks to Rosabella (who was already trying to help him find himself before he transformed) the curse haunted him no more, since he made a selfless act by taking Faybelle's debt to work for two hundred years.

"How are things going with Rosabella, by the way?" The blonde prince incorporated himself and leaned forward cross-legged, a tress falling to his forehead. He played with his thumbs while a smile and a soft blush illuminated his face.

"Oh, you know," he trailed sounding a bit bashful, "she'll be cheering me on the next game against Neverland High. I'm thinking of scoring just for her," he continued as he shrugged, "well not hexactly but, see, she found a sponsor who happens to be a bookball fanatic, so he will donate to her beast's cause a certain amount for every Bookdown." Daring looked up to encounter a smile just as bright as his, followed by a punch to his arm.

"Well, look at you! A kind prince Charming all right." She proudly announced with a wink. "Rosabella must have you royally tamed." Daring gave her a squinted look before returning to his shy smile.

"It's not entirely like that. Since we got together I found a new angle of myself; and I'm talking metaphorically here because, see, I just don't feel like looking at my reflection so often anymore. I prefer to look at her; it's like she reflects the side I want to see of myself, the important one."

"What's inside, right?" Cerise said, letting herself completely fall on her back. "That's nice…" _'To have someone you can completely be yourself with…'_ she thought.

"It's pretty nice, yes." Both of them reflected on it a little more before Daring got back on track.

"So, following with your issue: I don't think Blondie is suspecting you or anything this time. She hasn't made any connection to Mr.-you-know-whose-dad either, so I don't think it's about _that."_ He reassured as he pulled her hood to her face, messing with her and making clear what he was talking about. "Besides you are friends with her now, right? That girl can be weird and extreme at times but she would fight a bear for her friends." Cerise stayed lying down with her face covered.

"Yeah, maybe you are right…"

"I think you are worrying too much…" he casually said, and unsatisfied with the silence that followed he teasingly pressed: "unless it is because a certain party _lover_?" Cerise raised herself in a jump to a sitting position again and pulled her legs closer, curling herself in a ball.

"Hit the nail, huh?" Daring singed with a knowing smile. Cerise pulled the sides of her hood forward, as if trying to hide her already covered face in deeper. "Shouldn't you be happy? You've wanted to become close to her forever after!"

"Shhhh!" Cerise reappeared from the depth of her curl, only to show her mouth and nose; her eyes still in the shadow of her red cloak.

"There is no one here besides me, Cerise," the prince stated as a matter of fact, "and I already know about the hanky, remember? So are you going to talk or should we go back to me kicking the red out of you?" The girl peered from the safety of her clothes before finally getting out and cross-legging too.

"I didn't want to make a big deal out of it… Briar and I have just been hanging out recently and Blondie already made us a topic in her mirrorcast." She pulled the grass at her arm reach as an anxiety reliever. "Chances are low we may actually become close and I don't want more rumors spreading if she decides she does not like to spend so much time with me anymore…" The prince was taken aback by that last part and he let out a sigh.

"First: I would say you are pretty close already, what's with her coming to… uh… sleep through the team practice; and second: Why do you think she would get bored of you?" Cerise stretched her legs and stopped hurting the grass.

"See? That's why, I can't seem to keep her awake; almost all our plans ended with her falling asleep. I have the feeling it's gotten more frequent too." She took her chin in thought.

Has she really… that many times?

Let's see, the multihex, the picnic, at practice and sometimes on CoB nights… yeah I would say she has fallen asleep 60% of the times, Mom.

"But you know that's not your fault, Cerise." Daring almost scolded her, his big bro posture coming back.

"I know but… what can I do if I feel like it is?" The prince face got kinder again as he saw the royal despair in his friend's gray eyes, they looked fragile and misty… He then placed his hand atop of her head.

"Well, you said almost all… What kind of things kept her awake? Maybe you can find a balance between what you want to do with her and what you want her to enjoy…"

"Daring, I always knew you were more brilliant than you made it seem." Cerise said as she understood what her friend was getting at. Noticing her seemingly better, the blonde prince stood up and extended her a hand.

"Thanks? Now, we still have some time before the usual time; should we leave early or…?" He trailed as if he didn't know the answer.

"You wish! I have to repay you the favor of before." She responded as expected, placing a hand over her left rib and making a pained expression while standing up.

"Bring it on, Damsel!" Daring shouted already running to the other side of the field, taking the bookball with him.

"Oh, now you've done it, Paper Prince!"

* * *

"Are you sure this is safe?" Briar stared dubiously at the pill on her hand.

"hmm, Raven hasn't messed up as often since she got all her powers, so…" Cerise shrugged not looking that convinced either.

"mmhmm, why am I doing this again?" Briar looked up in search for motivation. The girls were once again in the sign that separated the forest into Enchanted and Dark. They had agreed to meet after class again, and considering the spot she was summoned at, Briar figured it was another picnic they were planning. She was wrong. She found Cerise waiting for her with the magic pills she was having second thoughts about. The pills were supposed to make her levitate for about an hour. Cerise had asked Raven to pull something of the sort for this special stunt of hers, she explained to the princess.

"I want to show you my favorite place." The girl in the hood said again, trying to keep the mystery for a little longer. Briar tried not to disappoint the girl in front of her.

"I don't see how this is necessary though, walking may be better, you know? I could fall asl-"

"I want you to see it the same way I do." ' _Not fairest! I can't say no to that!'_ Thought the pink girl finding weakness for another side of Cerise. She absorbed the hope in those gray eyes and finally gave in. She took the pills and gulped them with some help from a water bottle that was brought for the purpose. She closed her eyes tightly and waited. Not noticing anything weird she opened her eyes to the exact moment she started shining in a pinkish light, sparkles flashing around her while her feet left the floor. Her hair also floated around staying at her chin level around her because of its weight. She wanted to try a flip, but she wasn't sure she could impulse herself for it.

"Wow! Hey, Cerise! Help me do a flip!" The princess said sounding exited as a kid. The red girl smiled and did as she was told; she stepped forward and placed a hand just below the pink girl's foot and the other in the small of her back.

"Impulse yourself with your foot at the count of three, ok?" the standing girl instructed while getting prepared herself.

"Royally awesome!"

"Ready? One… two… three!" Briar took the impulse and Cerise helped her turn, raising her legs while maintaining stability with the hand at her back. The rest was done by physics. The red girl released the princess to hurry in front of her to save her from inertia. The floating girl stopped by softly getting hold of the hooded girl's covered neck with her right arm. Invaded by giggles and floating in front of the girl, Briar completed the embrace with her other arm.

"Thanks." She said breathless between laughter squeezing and rubbing her cheek and chin to the soft red fabric. Cerise heart took damage, but as the embrace held, she noticeably relaxed. Briar let go to float facing the red girl up front.

"Don't thank me yet, your _highness,_ " jokingly said the girl in the hood, looking up at the other girl for once (without shrinking herself that is). She took out what looked like a double parachute backpack and started to put it on Briar. Now it was turn for the pink girl to feel a bit anxious with the other girl's closeness. ' _Huh?_ ' she thought when a floating hair got in the way and Cerise took it with ultimate care out of it. Embarrassed on her hair's behalf, the princess made to put it away in a bun by collecting each one of the tresses.

"I'm sorry I should have tied it up," she said feeling a little hotter in the face. Cerise finished putting the gear on her and looked into her eyes.

"It's probably a good idea, considering what's next," she said helping the princess catch the curls out of her reach. The red girl then made it to put the gear on herself, pulling Briar's front to her back. "Though it's a shame," Cerise expressed earning a surprised look from behind her. "Floating freely like that… it made you look like a nymph…" she looked back to meet mauve, "a really beautiful one at that," she ended with a pure smile. Speechless, Briar tried to blame the red on her face to the reflection of the hood's color, making excuses only to herself.

"This is so you'll be fine even if you let go. We wouldn't want you to get separated while inside the dark forest," Cerise explained when she finished getting ready, pointing to the parachute looking thing. "I'll be running at my full speed trough it with you as a passenger," she finally revealed. "I wasn't sure I would be able to carry you and run at my best, so…" that explained the floating pills. "Keep your eyes open! The Dark forest has more than scary trees and suspicious mushrooms to it…"

' _So that's the reasoning behind all this…'_ Briar thought while sliding her arms to hug Cerise by the neck again '… _To keep my eyes open.'_ She smiled to herself finding her somehow dear. ' _I'm already hoping this would last forever after…_ ' The princess then took a big breath and positioned her head above the hooded girl's left shoulder for better visibility.

"Ready?" at last asked Cerise getting into position. Briar closed her eyes and planted an imperceptible soft and soundless kiss to the red hood below her. Then she opened them and gazed at the rough road ahead of them before answering:

"Ready."

* * *

 **I'm amazed... chapters just keep getting longer xD**

 **Thank you very much for reading! I hope you've been liking it so far; Ch. 3 offers you fluff again!**

 **Thanks for reviewing too! (I usually thank personally but some have entered as guests so...).**

 **Charm you later!**


	5. Ch 04- Dark Down Dawn

"Daring!" Cerise shouted from far down the hall, making pass through the sight of worried students walking in different directions, all trying to reach class. The prince and his companion, whose books he was carrying, stopped and turned in their heels at what sounded like a plea. The sight of the girl caught them by surprise, her usual outfit replaced by some cotton white clothes with only her red cape looking familiar and she was barefoot. The hooded girl struggled, half dragging her right foot, flinching at the pain that generated stepping on it. After way more than it would usually take (considering how fast Cerise is known for being) the girl in pain arrived before the couple.

"Are you ok, Cerise?" Rosabella hurried to the girl's aid, noticing not only her hobbling but, now looking at her closely, all the bruises and scratches she was covered in. "What are you–"

"Hi, Rosabella, I'm fine… really i–" she paused clenching her teeth when the pain pierced again but continued nonetheless "I just need to talk to Daring…" Said boy was looking at her with a worried big bro eyebrow, shaking his head at the red girl's actions.

"You should still be at–"

"Nurse Fine Fettle's. Yeah, I'll go back once you hear me out…" desperately asked Cerise, not wanting to lose more time with reprimands, fearing her voice would break.

"I need muscle training." She managed to voice out. Looking at the couple's shocked faces Cerise decided to add: "Not right now… when _this_ heals." Daring took a deep breath and looked at Rosabella apologetically.

"We'll talk about that later, ok?" he said while switching the books to his other hand, freeing his right and approaching Cerise to help her stand, "Could you-"

"Lend you a hand?" Said the beasts (and Daring) lover, already taking the other side of the injured girl.

Silent, tired and in pain, Cerise relied on her friends to walk back to the nurse's; suddenly feeling as grateful for the help as ashamed for being a bother. However, during the trip, the red girl had the opportunity to take a glimpse from between (literally) of the couple's interactions: how they communicated with their eyes, how they foresaw each other's movements (like Rosabella did before), how they shared some sort of code humor… well, basically: how they stood like equals. The air around them felt so comfortable that soon, just after she started feeling guilty for interfering, she felt as if her presence had been invited all along. ' _How nice…'_ she repeated her thoughts of before, unconsciously strengthening her hold on her helpers, bringing their attention to herself. Daring looked at her friend's troubled face and with a kinder tone than the one before he said:

"I know that what happened to Briar is getting you like this but, listen… strength is more than just muscles, you know?"

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! What? I'm sorry I just came back and I'm lost… What's going on here? Why is Cerise hurt? What's this about muscle training? What happened to Briar?!

Well, that's what you get for running away from romance, dear – _giggle_

I forgot our anniversary once… just once, love… Could we just turn the page on that?

Is there something behind Mom's teasing on you after all, Dad?

You don't need to know about that kiddo… But just for the record: I _am_ a romantic person. It just seems like I'll have to remind you just _how much_ later, love.

 _Giggle-_ Well, it sounds kinda fun…

Stop! I'm still here, guys! Remember?!- _Shivers-_ I'll just go ahead and repeat for Dad… _geez._

* * *

Ok… it was just another peaceful day in Ever After; classes were already over and the students of Ever After High were all getting busy with their own usual activities. 'Usual' may not be the best word for Briar, though. Earlier that day the rush lover girl had what she thought was a wonderlandiful realization while looking through a classroom window, before falling sleep that is; she had never climbed the Beanstalk before. Jumping of a parachute? How hexciting! So now, the pink princess was in the middle of climbing the Beanstalk next to school with Jillian (you know, a pro).

She had to give up on spending time with Cerise (her usual adventure partner as of late); the hooded girl was reuniting with her mom for lunch at the Wonderland haberdashery and tea shoppe so the climbing idea had come at a good time. The red girl had cancelled _their_ lunch on a short notice, claiming she had completely forgotten about the meeting with her mom and that it was important for a mysterious reason. It looked more like she was called last minute to an emergency family reunion but… whatever… Briar let her go taking the apologies and the girl's extremely cute worried face as collateral payment, ensuring they still had their meeting for a CoB session later that night.

Anyways, Briar had never climbed the tall overgrown plant and she had some free time to spend on doing so; however, safety was an important matter so she still needed a guide. She was glad when Jillian accepted on being her instructor, though she didn't know how to feel about repaying the favor with jelly beans. After a short introduction to the Beanstalk and its components, a really educative presentation the princess never thought she would need to hear, Jillian followed to explain the security measures that were basically 'Watch your step.' The plan was getting to the top and jumping together, minimizing the risk by having a pro in charge.

"Briar! Be careful!" Shouted Jillian from below with a hint of humor when she noticed said girl fighting with some vines. Climbing a live magical thing was so much different than climbing over rocks, or a normal tree; one of the things that made Jillian love beanstalks in particular was how they were full of surprises: from new sprouts to slippery sides, and clear inviting routes to vine traps. Briar was a fast learner, though. For her first try, she was doing pretty well; she had no problems with heights and she looked concentrated enough. She was obviously out of danger but watching rookies struggle was sort of a hobby and the pro climber wouldn't give up on the chance of a good laugh at their expenses.

"We are going to the left this time! So grab that branch and impulse yourself!" Jillian instructed from below.

"It better not be another trap!" Said Briar, making sure her tone revealed she knew the last 3 times hadn't been accidents.

"I promise I'm serious this time!" ' _sure you are...'_ thought the princess rolling her eyes while doing as she was said and pushing herself to the left.

"We are almost there!" she heard once more, glad she wasn't caught in some slimy stuff again… Jillian was nice and fun to be around but, the princess couldn't help thinking: _'If it were Cerise..._

…" _Woah! What was that?" Said Briar fastening her pace and getting ahead of the red girl, following a beautiful floating light in the distance. The light danced making little horizontal eights and abruptly stopped at the princess movement, before rushing to 'hide' making its way far into the woods. "Hey! Wait!" the princess said while making it to leap after it when a hand took her firmly by the wrist and jerked her back. "Watch it! It hurts!" she responded irately, "It's getting away!" she added turning back and looking at her aggressor._

 _Cerise looked at her for a second before covering the other girl's mouth with her free hand when she was about to speak again, pulling her closer. Briar's anger turned into surprise and having red only inches apart from her suddenly left her speechless._

" _Be quiet…" Cerise said in a hushed voice, letting go of the princess mouth and shushing with her index finger. Then she took a look around. She sniffed a couple of times heading to her right before nodding and pulling them both to a near spot. "Cover your nose and mouth…" Cerise ordered while handing her the cape of her hood to do so, "don't touch the flowers…" she added. Briar scoffed and released her imprisoned wrist to stand firm and arm-crossed. Cerise stopped and looked back at the princess with a slightly furrowed brow._

" _Is this a joke or something? What's going o-" Briar stopped herself, suddenly searching the other girl's eyes. It could be because it was dark, or because the light was playing her tricks but, she could swear she saw Cerise's gray eyes turn gold for a second. Before she could word anything else the red girl repeated her orders:_

" _Cover your nose and mouth. Don't touch the flowers." She proceeded to take her hand once more and, making sure they were both covering themselves (Briar with her cape and Cerise pulling a side of the hood), she placed them standing in the middle of a small white flower field, hidden between the trees. They stood completely still._

 _Eyeing Cerise, the princess noticed how she stayed vigilant, looking in all directions without moving much. Her eyes suddenly focused front and her hold of Briar's hand tightened, sharing her feelings of anxiety. The air tensed when the princess finally read the gravity of the situation in what she deduced was cold sweat going down the hooded girl's face. Briar 'tasted' what was happening, looking around her, feeling small all of a sudden with an increasing distressful uneasiness as if they were expecting something bad to happen. The stillness around them didn't help, all the sounds seemed to grow quieter by the tick and Briar could only find refuge in what she was immediately feeling. She smelled a familiar earthy scent coming from the cape she was holding restlessly to her face. She heard the soft crush of the flowers under her feet. She blinked an itch that began at her eyes. She noticed their joined hands were damp and uncomfortable._

 _Softly enough to make her question if she had really heard it outside her mind, the sound of heavy steps over fallen leaves made her forget it all. Now she could only hear the sound of 'that' and the thump of her own heart; both getting louder and louder until the noise of her sight overpowered her hearing. A huge mass of 'something' with no distinguishable shape, which groaned with every breath crushing the floor with every step, started walking pass the white flower hideout. As it got nearer, Briar felt like screaming but her voice was trapped in her chest, suffocated by her shaky breathing. She closed her eyes feeling them watery, ready to let the drops fall while the strength from her legs fled._

 _Cerise squeezed her hand inviting the princess to open her eyes. She met with gray; calm and serene gray. 'Everything will be fine' she read among soothing circles at the back of her hand, and soon she allowed for time to take away 'that' as it got further and further from them. Merciful, time flew on fast allowing the pair to stay there for more than an hour in the blink of an eye. Passed the lapse, Cerise took them out of the forest._

" _The flowers are called 'Moly'… they are flowers from the Gods… and only they can handle them, maybe Cupid could explain you better… I only know they are capable of protecting us…" the hooded girl hexplained just when the silence on the way back felt unbearable to Briar. The princess walked behind the girl in red, still taking hold of both her hand and the cape of her hood. Finally out of the woods the pink girl let go and they stood face to face._

" _This rarely happens, really… but I should have warned you about the baits in the dark forest… dark and unknown creatures use them to lure their prey close enough to catch their scent and track them… The Moly helps to both wash our trail and erase the scent memory of the creature… we are safe now." Briar felt the urge to look up and make a silly remark, anything to lighten the mood, she knew she was at fault but Cerise was taking the blame and that made her feel inadequate… she felt something was missing. The princess looked up trying to find the missing piece when she got surprised by a pair of hands taking hold of her face._

" _I would never risk getting you injured over a joke, am I clear?" Cerise said so close to her face that the princess could see the pain in her eyes. Briar noticed the girl in front of her was holding her cry and started shedding tears on her behalf. She then stepped into a hug and held her friend for a while; crying her heart out, she released her fear of the moment, asked for forgiveness and thanked sounding like a broken record until she calmed down._

 _After several minutes of sobbing, the issue died down and the princess finally looked up. They both felt silly for some reason and started laughing at each other faces. Full laughs erupted when they noticed Briar's makeup was a mess and was smeared all over Cerise's hood. 'Laugh at it, will you…' thought the princess when she saw the hooded girl couldn't contain her giggles. She was about to take her little mirror out and try to fix the mess when the hooded girl took out a pink handkerchief and tried to help. Mesmerized by the cuteness of the act, Briar looked at Cerise naturally wet the cloth with her tongue and delicately rub it on her face. Far from feeling grossed the princess started acting bashful, being unable to look at the other girl's face and blushing a little under her touch. Finishing the red girl put away the hanky and looked back with a smile._

" _There… pretty again."_

 _Huh?...'_ Briar remembered the thud of her heart at the time, reacting similarly to the memory of it. She didn't remember much after that scene; she fell asleep right there and then making them both fall to the ground. Cerise stayed with her until she woke up and then they went back to the dorms.

The princess smiled to herself while remembering the hooded girl's request of repeating their 'floating' tour around the forest sometime; possibly an attempt to overwrite the bad experience they just had so Briar wouldn't come to hate the place she loved so much. The pink girl certainly had a lot of fun that time and so she agreed to go again, also wanting to play her part in the overwriting process. Besides, the pills turned out to be harmless and who would deny a full hour being able to float and play around, making impossible flips imitating fairies and other magical creatures.

"… _it made you look like a nymph… a really beautiful one at that…"_

"Briar!" She heard Jillian shout with her humorous tone gone, replaced by one of worry… The princess then noticed she was losing consciousness.

' _Curses! Not now!'_ Last thought Briar trying to fight her sudden drowsiness, eyelids falling heavily and making it impossible. She tried falling to the Beanstalk side so at least she could stay within the branch she was standing at; but the effort ended up being meaningless; once she lost the strength of her upper body her own weight sent her the way of the branch inclination to a surely deathly fall.

Jillian acted fast. It wasn't the first time a classmate fell of the giant plant on her guard; however, it was the first time the falling person was asleep, so she would have to improvise a little in order to save them. As soon as she saw the body leave the branch, she attached herself to a vine and jumped to catch the princess.

"Gotcha!" celebrated the rescuer when she caught the pink girl by the waist; her joy ending up being short lived. Since she had jumped far from the beanstalk, physics pulled her back to it, her legs compromised with the vine making her unable to stop properly and being brutally smashed against with the hard trunk. The impact on her side forced her to release the girl in her arms, said unconscious girl unable to get a hold of her rescuer herself. An inhuman attempt allowed Jillian to catch her again by the arm before she got too far, far away. A sharp scream escaped the girl when the pull of gravity plus the extra weight made her aware of a pain at her ribs. Without much choice, Jillian stayed like that; being torn by her own string of life and the fall to death of someone else, enjoying the pain to its very last expression on her body. After getting used to the idea of feeling unbearable agony, the brave girl knew what she had to do next. She was wearing a parachute. She had to let go of the vine and somehow impulse herself away from the plant to safely open her chute with the girl in her arms. God knew it was suicide, not to mention it was physically impossible for the hurt girl. She was aware she had broken at least a couple of ribs with that last stunt… and even while being the bravest student in Ever After, she knew she would pass out from pain if she tried anything near what she needed to.

Who would have thought this day she would have to choose between her own life and someone else's? Jillian knew how much bravery you could get from wanting to protect someone and she respected those kind of selfless acts, heroism acts. All her life, her entire family's legacy was surrounded by those concepts: bravery and selflessness. Yet right now, she was scared and was fighting to not think selfishly. With each invasive thought she strengthened her hold on Briar's arm. She was not going to give up… even if it meant hanging in there forever after, she would not let go. Tears made their way down Jillian's forehead when as if making fun of her resolution, she felt Briar slid slowly from her hand. Praying for Briar to wake up, her sobs became stronger at the clear feeling of the princess arm slipping from her tired grip.

At ground level, things were getting hectic. Jillian's pained scream had been heard in the near area, forcing teenagers to look up from their mirrorphones and notice the issue at hand. Blondie Lockes herself, who was close enough to the scene, stopped in the middle of a cast to focus on the spot from where she heard the cry.

' _Something's not right,'_ she thought as she made the figure of Jillian, hanging upside down, without signs of changing positions soon. "Definitely not right…" she let out when she noticed Briar's condition. Then she did the only thing she knew she could: inform everyone.

"This is Blondie Lockes calling for help on an ultimate emergency! Jillian Beanstalk and Briar Beauty are hanging from a high point from the beanstalk in front of the school entrance in what looks like a life risking predicament… I'm not sure of what's going on but! Please… someone… " she ended saying almost in tears; desperately looking at what she wished was only a dream that was just not right. Having only finished talking, the reporter heard several screams of terror from shocked damsels following to announce something was definitely wrong. Students hurriedly looked at each other in search of ideas, with the hope that someone could think of something useful quickly under this circumstances.

' _I wanted a big story, yes… but not like this!'_ the reporter thought while trying to stabilize her pulse to help the camera. Blondie was ready to throw away if necessary her mirrorpad, her shaky hands making noticeable how she was not willingly recording the possible last moments of her BFFA. She did, nonetheless, keep the cast going hoping it would bring just the hero her friend needed.

Cerise was walking calmly back to school after her meeting with her mom. The lunch had been quite short, but none of them minded since it had been an excuse to hand certain shared journal as a favor to a certain grumpy wolf anyways. However, her short conversation with her mom just moments ago was replaying in her head. Mothers are known for being clever but this daughter could not believe how fast her mom caught up with what had happened with her recently. No matter how vague she was being about it… Little Red Riding Hood definitely knew what was up. The red girl's mind kept wandering on the words of advice of her mother when she was bumped on the shoulder from behind by a runner.

The blonde boy fell to the ground in front of her, face first, dropping his phone and losing his crown on the process.

"Humphrey?"

Before having the opportunity to offer any help, the Egg prince stood up, rescuing only his glasses and, paying no mind to pain or his bleeding nose whatsoever, he started running again in the school's direction. Confused and surprised, Cerise picked up the boy's things starting with his crown. She noticed the sound coming from his mirrorphone and confirmed it was still on. From the cracked screen she saw the distinctive new logo of Blondie's mirrorcast. Soon after, her face got deprived of any color. The hooded girl leaped up to school grounds herself.

By the time she arrived to the scene, the red girl had tried calling everyone she knew could help, but things weren't working like they should in an emergency. Lines seemed to be saturated. Dozens of fairytales trying to reach help were turning the task impossible. Then, horror filling her to the very core after spotting them with her own eyes, Cerise found it impossible to keep looking up in hope the hanging girls could endure enough.

Frustrated with the impotence around him and without finding what else to do, Humphrey started climbing the beanstalk himself; the fact they were almost at the top insignificant to the prince. Trying once more to call Raven, Cerise looked at Humphrey and felt like climbing too, like doing anything to help, but she knew it would be a miracle if any of them made it in time. _'If only I could…'_ started thinking the hooded girl just in time to see Cupid reach Blondie at the top of the entrance stairs and offer her support _'…fly'._

"Cupid!" The red girl called while approaching the pair of girls. A hopeful face hard to maintain at the sight of a practically broken Blondie holding her mirrorpad up without even looking at it, a hand covering her face, her shaky figure held by loving arms and embraced by majestic wings. At the call the pink haired goddess looked up and offered a kind smile, a rueful expression hidden behind it. As fast as they were close enough to hear one another Cupid spoke:

"I tried looking for Headmaster Grimm, but he's not in school. Baba Yaga left on her house since this morning and hasn't come back yet … I don't know what else to do."

"How high can you fly, Cupid?" The red girl asked while placing her hand over one of the girl's wings, hoping for the best. She then saw her idea crushed by a shaking head.

"I'm sorry, Cerise… I can't fly that high," Cupid said in the most calmed tone she could, her voice cracking a little at the end of her apology. _'Of course she couldn't…'_ The hooded girl reprimanded herself for losing time in useless ideas when she knew very well there was a limit for flying people.

"You … you need a dragon…" a cracked but determined voice was heard from between them as Blondie said among held sobs and shivers, making an effort to stand by herself, "or a magic user… I thought the cast would summon them but…" She stopped when she noticed Ashlynn and Hunter approaching from within the school.

"Where is Tiny?! Maybe he could catch them at a safe distance or climb fast enough!" Said Hunter scanning the scene with no big guy around, seeming as if he had been looking for him for a while, a sweaty heavy breathing confirming it. Ashlynn at his side looked horrified by what was happening but looked up front with a frown trying to stay focused in search for ideas. Ash was a dragon rider, so there could not be better timing.

"Cupid…" rose her voice the blonde girl again, "Take Ashlynn to the stables… it will be faster by air…" she commanded. The goddess looked down worry washing over her, her hold unintentionally tightening. "I'll be fine Chariclo…" Blondie said unconvincingly, when Cerise broke in playing on both, hers and Blondie's, urgency.

"You could see if you find any magic user while you are at it; Raven, Farrah, Faybelle…" It looked as if the hooded girl's words took an effect in the pink haired one, who relaxed and nodded. "I'll stay with Blondie. Please go…" Cerise added, already taking the weakened girl while slowly sinking to the floor helping her take a seat on one of the steps. Cupid said no more and hurried to Ashlynn. After what looked like an understanding both girls took flight and started the search as fast as they could, leaving the rest of them behind hoping they still had time.

Another pained cry reached Cerise's hidden ears forcing her to look up again. Thankfully, Briar was still hanging but it didn't sound like Jillian could persist much longer. Hunter reacted by taking an arrow and pointing it the further he could to the beanstalk. He took a firm position and concentrated, then with a deep breath he let his body do its best and release. The arrow could be seen flying reaching almost the midway up and strongly stabbing deeply into the trunk, a long enough rope falling right after it.

"I'll have to be content with that…" the next huntsman said with a disappointed tone to himself before addressing the girls beside him, "I'll try to reach them before it's too late…I thought using a rope may give me some advantage…" he said before running towards the rope to without delay start climbing too. Under pressure, the hooded girl started feeling useless… what could she do to help? What could she do if Briar fell? Catch her?! How?!

"Daring…" She realized out loud. Daring could. He had done it before; catching damsels who fell from outrageous heights was his specialty. But Daring wasn't there, she regretted not having asked Cupid to look for him too. She attempted dialing him but again the call wouldn't connect. Her third attempt and fairy fail matched with another cry and at the helplessness, Cerise snapped. Throwing her phone with a growl, she enjoyed watching its pieces shatter in all directions. She could not even support Blondie anymore; she was at nothing of breaking herself.

Pressing her hands to her face and taking deep breaths, the hooded girl fought to regain her composure, she didn't gain anything from going berserk; and then another realization came to her thanks to Blondie who caught glimpse of Dexter Charming. "Maybe… a prince would be able to catch Briar…" the reporter said without thinking to deep. _'A prince…huh?'_ Thought Cerise looking up at Dexter herself, and it suddenly made click…That's what Briar needed: A prince. Not necessarily Daring, just someone strong enough and who knew how to catch princesses.

Cerise left Blondie's side, mentally apologizing to Cupid for not keeping her promise, and ran to Dexter. She caught the attention of the boy by pulling his shoulder, turning him to look at her. The pale and surprised prince looked at his friend in shock.

"You can catch her, Dex." The red girl said to her friend without prelude, making the boy jerk back from her hold and frown while shaking his head.

"Are you crazy?! I can't do that!" He stated sounding like the voice of reason, trying to shake the irrational idea out of the obviously desperate girl.

"Listen to me, Dexter!" Cerise said trying to stay calm, another cry resounding from above. ' _Cupid, please hurry...'_ she thought closing her eyes before proceeding.

"No, you listen to me…" The boy interrupted, completely freeing himself from the girls grasp and taking her by the shoulders to look directly into her eyes, "I. Can't. Even if I'm a Charming… I just can't," he said calmly as if dealing with a small child. It did not help; the frustration was starting to take the best of Cerise. She furrowed her brow irately, irked by the prince's attitude. Another scream filled the air.

"You are a prince, Dexter! This is where Hero Training becomes useful!"

"So that's it! You think a 'prince' can solve this?" The glasses boy said finding hard to believe what he was hearing, releasing her friend to motion angrily with his arms; "Well, why don't you go find Daring then?!"

"We have no time, Dexter!" Erupted Cerise with a growl, making the boy look in terror as her eyes turned gold.

Just then Jillian's hold on Briar's fingers took its last slips filling the first girl with sorrow. Heavy drops and intense sobs where the only sound for a second before the climber spoke:

"I'm sorry, Briar…"

And then… she fell. Jillian let out her most pained cry until then as she noticed the girl grow far from her, heading to the ground.

Despite the various high screams of the girls around, Cerise's world got emptied of sound. With no dragon, or magic user, or miracle prince in sight; the hooded girl ran far from the place without really noticing when… she just followed her instincts.

In midair Briar woke up, blinking softly at the scene above her, with full knowledge of what was going on. A single tear left her face upwards as she made fun of the single notion that could cross her mind at the time: _'Destiny, huh?'_ She thought bitterly with a matching sour smile, giving herself the second to wonder if she regretted having decisions to regret. Making her last decision, she followed to close her eyes.

Wait! No! It can't end like this! She… she isn't supposed to… writing her own destiny can't end this way, she is supposed to…

Dad! Let me finish… _geez…_

While witnessing the catastrophe, some student's felt a gust when a shadowy figure made its way full speed back in the beanstalk direction. Running at her best, powered by the rush, heartbeat at its highest, Cerise focused solely on Briar's falling figure and in purely mental calculated movements, she jumped at the exact moment to catch Briar from the side just meters above the ground.

After flying some more because of the deviated impulse they landed violently, with Cerise taking most of the impact by shielding with her body; then they brutally rolled on the floor, evoking the image of ragdolls until they fully stopped. Ever After was dead quiet. Everybody froze at the sight of the unmoving bodies.

* * *

Humphrey jumped far to reach the final step, the one just below the girls. His non-athletic condition led him to fall short and place him at the mercy of his already tired arms, hanging from the branch. The impact making him lose his glasses, unable to try and catch them. He forcibly looked down; even with his bad eyesight he could take the image of the ground being so far away. He closed his eyes tightly, embracing his life to the branch as his fears started paralyzing him. Then he frowned, the smiling image of Jillian popping into his mind, summoning his bravery to look up. The vision he got was excruciating; Jillian hung all alone unmoving, miserably crying disconsolately, a mess of sobbing and pained cries repeating over and over "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry...I'm not brave enough… I'm not brave…"

Humphrey pulled himself to the top of the branch, getting at a safe distance to retrieve the girl. Heartbroken, he reached to take Jillian's arms, drawing her closer. The girl allowed the vine to unwrap from her leg and let her body fall slowly onto the prince's hold. Once there she cried even harder, only resting her head on the boy's sweater, trying to hide herself from reality. Her whole body had lost its strength and in her broken state she couldn't find the motivation to even lift her finger. Tired himself and in understanding of what finding only one girl meant, the egg prince rested his back on the trunk of the beanstalk and sat safely, allowing them both a little rest. His own throat hurt from the knot it held as his tears disobeyed him and started falling, accompanying Jillian in her pain. They sat there crying, while Humphrey embraced the inconsolable girl, pulling her closer from time to time, caressing her face with his hands taking rebellious bangs out of it and easing her puffed eyes removing the wet trails of the drops that would not stop.

Several minutes had passed with them in that state when they heard what sounded like a crowd yelling… like if they were…celebrating …? ' _What?_ ' Thought Humphrey making to look down, confused by the response they were given; he couldn't see a thing from there, though. The moment he leaned out a bit more a dragon appeared making him jerk back in surprise to the trunk again. Ashlynn and Hunter greeted them with a smile.

"Need some help?" Ashlynn said with kindness, her tone way too light for the mood to be dark as they had feared the last dozen of minutes. Humphrey's heart felt light as he allowed himself to imagine the best. Standing with the bravest girl he had ever known in his hold and with some help from Hunter, Humphrey placed them both at the back of the dragon. Making their way down, the egg prince gave attention to Jillian's exhausted face and as if giving permission to her heavy eyelids to fall completely shut after so much resistance he whispered softly with a smile:

"I would say you are pretty brave."

* * *

Cerise couldn't grasp a hold of her surroundings, sight melting with hearing melting with pain, unbearable pain. Sudden noise kicked her senses when pink blurry shadows made past them and positioned themselves at the very top of her sensations. The taste of blood started separating from the rest of them, cold spots on her… face? following the same path… pressure on the sides of her head were next. As she started differencing each sense from the other, she noticed her hearing was compromised… The now warm pressure on her head's sides was probably the culprit. The yelling still made it past the obstacle, and so she followed it until it hit a sound that wouldn't sync with the rest. _'I know this…'_ She noticed as she pursued that tiny color in the scheme.

"..rise!" she recognized the similar combination and in her unconscious tried to pull it closer.

"Cerise!" She managed to separate from the melting sensations… trying her best to make sense of the familiar everything. The blur, the warmth, the sound, it all was so familiar. However, it was difficult to concentrate on the recognizable feelings with the not so common ones shouting behind. The noise, the pain, the breeze… ' _The breeze?'_

"Cerise!" Came once more as the world fit into place.

"Briar…" she managed to answer, forcing her lungs to compensate the lack of strength in her rough voice; her sight clearing allowing her to distinguish the girl's features.

"Shh, shh, shh…" She heard the princess hush, sweetly caressing her cheeks with her thumbs, caramel tresses brushing against her as they moved with their owner.

"Can you lift your head for a bit?" She heard again and unable to stop to think of reasons she made as she was told. She somehow managed to elevate her head about half an inch, surprised at both the task resulting painless and so incredibly difficult. As soon as she started rising she felt the pressure leaving her head and an old known cover to take its place. She was about to word her thanks when pink fell to her side and other shadows made their way into her sight… With the pain gaining priority once more, she felt her senses melting again when a merciful wave of nothingness fell upon her and allowed her to rest.

When she came back again, it was dawn, she was not in her room and she was being treated by medical fairies. Cerise stayed as she was, scanning her surroundings, noticing the very first rays of sun making their way through the tight spaces the heavy curtains had forgiven. She rose slowly to a sitting position, holding her head from her face with her right hand and apologizing at the tiny bluish glowing creatures who were a little surprised by her movements. After conceding she couldn't move more than she had already, she sat still and allowed the fairies to continue their tasks on the lower part of her body. Then looking down at them, she realized she was wearing cotton white pants and a shirt. She heard her heart thump in fear, the feeling rising to her stomach when she saw her hood on the chair just beside her and, as if confirming it really was her cape, she moved the hand from her face further to her side. It met with her hair and inevitably with her uncovered ears.

' _Who had seen? Who knew? How much they knew?'_ These questions wandered Cerise's mind, her heartbeat increasing while moving to take her hood, bothering the working fairies once more but too shaken to pay it any mind. She hugged her cape close in an attempt to hold herself in a single piece, breathing was somehow becoming harder. She closed her eyes and frowned trying to get her thoughts in order… The last thing she remembered coming to her incomplete. A flash to the image of Briar falling and the clench of her legs to the impulse of jumping while running at her fastest made their way to her consciousness, making her release a trembling sigh.

Then, Cerise put on the red cloth as fast as she could when a presence jumped to her still numb senses. A flash of gold and a growl was directed towards the entrance of the room where a tall figure rested on the frame of the door arm-crossed.

"I wouldn't challenge me in your condition…" Said the tall girl as she rolled her eyes, her voice making the girl in red relax, "… and you probably don't want to wake her up," she continued pointing from her position to a bed beside her audience. Cerise turned her head to find Briar sleeping soundly in the bed at her right, her own set of medical fairies working on her. The now hooded girl's agitation returned double force; Briar was there… Briar was there when her ears were exposed. A new set of questions haunted the girls mind as her eyes grew with panic. She heard the girl at the door sighing and calling for her; "Let's talk outside," she said pointing with her thumb to her back.

Aided by the girl, the two of them made it to a nearby balcony. Cerise got placed over the bench while her companion sat herself on the floor right next to it. Once they were both sure no one was around, by sniffing and hearing carefully, they went right into topic.

"You'll probably remember yesterday's drama, right?" The girl on the floor asked with a hint of humor in the annoyance of her voice. A nod and a hum from Cerise conveyed she could skip the details of what happened before the climax and encouraged her to continue. "I wasn't there myself, but what you did sis..." she paused for a deep chuckle, "well, it was kinda badass. I'll give you that."

"I wasn't wearing my hood, Ramona…" Cerise said absentmindedly looking at the sunrise, tugging the red cloth forward as a comforting gesture while her worries ate her away.

"I know," her sister said letting out a sigh at the lack of emotion in her companion's reactions; then looking down at her nails she added "I was the one who took it off."

Cerise looked back in complete disbelief. Her own sister?! The only one who knew as well as her how important it was to keep this matter hidden for the sake of their family?! How could she?! The incredulity of it all washed in her mind and, before she could react to the killing intent that was building inside of her she saw it, the mocking deep laugh of the big bad one in front of her. What did it meant? Did she deliberately make it to expose her? Is she just joking? Why is she here anyways? Ramona seemed to understand her sibling a little too well; and so, noticing how Cerise was on the verge of overheating, she spoke again.

"You should have seen your face!"

"Ramona!"

"I'm no kiddin' on the hood part, though."

"Ramona…" Cerise said with a growl.

"No, really. I was the one who took your hood off."

"But, why?"

After a tense eternal moment for Cerise and a second of (weirdly seemingly embarrassed) hesitation from the declared Bad Wolf, the question arrived in an unfitting small voice.

"I'm the nurse's assistant…"

"Wha-?"

"I'm the nurse's assistant! Ok?!" Ramona repeated with a growl of her own. "You should be grateful, Cherry… I took care of your wounds and covered your ass…" She added with a grumpy attitude, rolling her eyes at the still worried face of her sis, "No one besides the medical fairies saw, and they fear me enough to know they better keep their mouths shut. We- _You_ have nothing to worry about."Helping her back by resting it on the side of the bench, she kept adding to assure the unbelieving girl: "The old hag was too busy healing Beanstalk-" Oh! Jillian's injuries went as far as 3 broken ribs and muscle strain in her arm by the way… I'm no expert but, that must have been really painful.

Wait, you mean she clung to Briar for so long in _that_ condition?

Pretty amazing, right Dad? She regained consciousness when they arrived at the nurse office and endured the medi-magical treatment with a tired smile. She was just glad no one had gotten deathly injured. Jillian insisted on going to her own room to rest; she still took the medical fairies with her so they could give the complete report in the morning.

My, my; Have roles reversed, Dear?- _Chuckle_ Now we are the ones interrupting the narration…I'm sorry, sweetie.

No offense taken, Mom, Dad- _Giggle_

"But, Briar was still in the room. She could have seen something…" _'Or heard something'_ feared the hooded girl at the memory of Briar's secret ability and the proximity in their beds.

"I doubt it. She has not woken up ever since they picked her from beside you outside school… girl has some heavy sleep. And… I always wake up at dawn so I was sure I could come cover you before too late." Cerise could not believe her sister had taken so many pains for her sake and she was awkwardly moved. She laid on her side reaching with her head the far end of the bench where Ramona was resting her back. With a soft nuzzle on the wilder sister's hair and a sigh worth all the worries in the universe she finally found the words she searched all over while hearing the explanation.

"Thank you, sis."

"Don't get used to it, ok? It will ruin our record…"

"Stinky."

"That's better, you mucky…"

After some comfortable silence, in which Cerise thought for a minute she would fall asleep since she found the rising sun incredibly lullaby-esque, Ramona took word again:

"I already told him you are fine but, make sure Papa sees you are good when you can walk on your own." Being answered with a distant hum from her sister and still unsatisfied with their reactions, the Bad Wolf added in an awfully teasing tone:

"But honestly, Cherry, you should tell your girlfriend soon, you know?"

"She's not-! Briar and I aren't-! oh, shut it, Rams!" Cerise rose in a blush and responded finding too late she had played right into her sister's game. Ramona stood up herself, shaking the dust from her pants and stretching her back. She made to help her sister rise with her while retorting.

"Well, if she's not, she better be giving you a hell of a reward, you hear me? You got pretty messed up with all this and it's not like you're a prince or something." Cerise stood with the help of her sis, only to feel like sitting down again. ' _A prince… huh?'_ she replayed in her mind, feeling disappointed at herself rather than proud. She had saved Briar, right? Then why did she feel like deserving a sentence instead of a reward? Was it because she still got injured? Wasn't it kind of taboo for princesses to get hurt? Following Ramona back to the nurse's and noticing the pain was getting stronger now that she had used her body for a while, she decided it was best to focus on the present. She still had a question at the tip of her tongue that fitted within the time, though, and she at least was going to try to obtain that answer.

"Why are you the nurse assistant?" Ramona heard from her hurt sister at her side and clenched her fangs, looking somewhere she frowned and grumbled in frustration.

"Something wrong with it?" She asked back defiantly.

"Well, it's not like it's _bad_ or anything…"

"Good."

"That's the point, Rams. It's not bad. I'm not ungrateful or anything… but offering help to others doesn't really fit with your edgy front, you know?" Ramona considered keeping her reasons to herself. She was sure that if she outright refused to answer Cerise would not push the matter any further; this was Cerise we were talking about, she understood and respected secrets as no one else could. It was not like keeping secrets was a foreign art to them and their family, and she had no obligation to tell her sister anything. But that was probably it; having to keep secrets from everyone was so tiring, that she always ended up wanting for the barrier to at least be down with her parents and her sister. Whatever the reason, she chose to amuse her curious sibling.

"I needed _allowed_ access to the nurse stuff so I could just shut someone up…" she paused for a laugh at the memory of a certainly difficult to silence 'someone' and figuring that wouldn't be enough of an explanation she opted to return to the root. "Let's just say, you are not the only one whose princess has bad sleeping habits." A little surprised (at both receiving an answer and the answer itself) but in understanding of what she had just heard Cerise felt like she could be a little more curious than she usually was.

"And what's your reward?"

"You want to know, dontcha?" ' _Well, that's as far as I go, I guess,'_ thought the hooded girl plenty content with how far her sister let her see this time. Then, after her happy face being darkened by a deep thinking frown, she looked up to her sibling and honestly confused she pushed.

"But… you are not a prince either, you know?" Looking directly to Ramona's face, Cerise wondered when the last time she saw that expression on her sister was; it was so… not Bad Wolf at all.

"Well…" Ramona started before Cerise noticed, still mesmerized by the unwonted event she was witnessing; "I'm no prince, yeah. I am proudly a wolf… But even as a wolf, I can at least do this much-" she emphasized by taking stronger hold on her, "for the people I care."

"Aren't you the one ruining our record now?"

"Shut up, Cerise."

* * *

Back in the nurse where Ramona left Cerise for the fairies to continue their treatment, the hooded girl kept a single thought floating inside her head: ' _I can at least do this much for the people I care.'_ Of course she knew her sister beyond the Ever After High Ramona Bad Wolf everyone thought she was, so she was not surprised at the statement. What kept her tied to the thought was completely unrelated to the kind of person her sister was. It had more to do with the person she was as Cerise Hood and as a wolf herself.

The fairies finished their job and went to take a rest, leaving the room alone just when the first voices from students made it from the huge acoustic halls. Cerise rested on her side facing Briar's bed and looked quietly at her sleeping figure. _'I'm no prince, but even as a…'_ She pulled the sides of her hood as if trying to hide into it again; _'I can at least do this much…'_ She focused on the princess face a peaceful expression on it _'for the people I care.'_

The warning bell rang as she raised her hand and unconsciously placed her fingertips atop the ones from Briar's nearest hand. She looked at them brushing softly thinking for a couple of seconds before looking up again with unbreakable resolution. She carefully sat on the edge of the bed and experimented a couple of times until she could stand on her own. She reached the frame of the door and turned to see Briar one last time before heading out.

"I need to find Daring." She said to herself while making past the door into the corridor.

* * *

 **Hey there! Nice to see you again or nice to meet you!**

 **My friends call me Yui and right now I'm overjoyed C:**

 **How's life going for you?**

 **Thank you very much for following this story of mine (/°v°)/ I hope you keep finding it to your liking and stay until the very end (that keeps looking further and further away with each chapter getting longer and longer...)**

 **I was happy to find new reviews! (among other notifications... Seriously, I was first time added as a favorite author sjfbjasbfkjbas I was so moved when I received that mail! It made my day! I hope you all experience that little joy in life and I hope I can experience it several times more in the future).**

 **Thanks for taking the time to review my work! I'm glad to know these characters I love so much can get loved some more because of something I did! At the end that's what I intend, to share my love for them with you all -v- (also thanks for reading the author's notes!)**

 **Thanks Thanks Thanks! I hope you enjoy this gift from me to you ^^**

 **SUPER NOTE: I hope you can spot the reference I made to a certain favorite fic of mine! If you don't, don't worry it's never too late search: 'Pull of the moon' by inspiredinfj (you'll get it when you read it).**

 **Charm you later!**


	6. Ch 05- Cross my heart and hope

I think she should stop. Don't you agree, Dear?

Mom, really, she'll be f-

I don't know Brooke, she's still recovering from…

Yeah, yeah, but she's determined! This is how fairytales should go!

And how is that exactly, sweetie?

C'mon, Mom. Dad, you surely know what I'm talking 'bout, right?

No idea.

I mean! This is what fairytales are all about! The hero gives their best to become the best, so they can overcome the best trials and defeat the best of the villains to save the day… In the best way possible! Am I right?

Well, yeah… I guess.

Why 'I guess'?

It's just funny to hear you talking about the norm in fairytales, Brooke.

Well, maybe I'm becoming more of a good narrator… or something… Don't smile like that! Anyways! Like I was saying she'll be fine.

"I think we should stop for today, Cerise." Oh, not her too…

"N-no. I'm ok. Let's continue." See! She has the spirit.

"It is not a suggestion. We are stopping now." Wha- why?

"But it's… we've been training for less than two hours…" You tell her, Cerise!

"We've been training for _almost_ two hours..." Isn't that the same?

No, Brooke, it isn't.

"Listen, Cerise, I would usually plead for some good ol' fighting spirit… however, resting is also an essential part of training." Ugh… ok…Cerise listened to the words of her new trainer, trying to look past her determination and notice her own heavy breathing and aching body. A hand rested on her shoulder, the owner kneeling down to reach since the hooded girl herself was resting on her knees. "I signed up when my brother told me you were set on getting stronger, but there is no use if you get hurt…" Cerise looked up from the depth of her red hood into the kind blue of the girl's eyes.

"You… may be right, Darling." The red girl admitted looking down to the floor. It had been barely six days since the… uh… 'incident' and this was only her second training session since then.

RECAP! In case you forgot, last chapter Briar went on with Jillian to climb the beanstalk in front of the school. But what started as a fun rushing experience turned grimm when Briar lost consciousness at almost the top of the magical plant. Despite Jillian's efforts to save her (which also led her to be severely injured) and the combined effort of the fairytales around the scene, Briar fell to an imminent death only to be caught midair by a running Cerise, sparing her life but leaving their bodies thoroughly damaged nonetheless.

Cerise knew very well she would not get better in just two days, _'this things take time'_ she repeated to herself almost as a charm whenever she felt powerless against the exercises Darling faced her with, which (to top it all) were just of the light kind. Now looking down at the grass, Cerise found herself repeating the words in her head again, frustration raising as the pain in her ankle made its appearance. Magical treatment of injuries sure was faster than the traditional way she had learnt from her dad, but it sure was inconvenient; leaving side effects and all. When she was dismissed from her treatment she expected everything to go back to normal, to be able to run and train, not to still wait the usual time until the thing had fully healed. What's the point of it being magical?! Sure her most noticeable injuries were gone, but still!

Cerise let out a big sigh while getting off her knees and letting herself fall back to a more comfortable sitting position on the floor. She started messing with the grass again, trailing back to her conversation with Daring; remembering how much effort she had put on convincing him of the muscle training as an attempt to keep her dismissive thoughts at margin. The hooded girl had actually hoped the prince would be her trainer since she was already familiarized with his temper and they were comfortable enough with each other to not consider the extra time inverted a bother. Daring, however, had referred Cerise to Darling. His valid argument being that, well, Cerise was a girl and he was not exactly qualified to assign anyone a training routine, unless he shared his own, which could not be adequate to just everybody. His sister on the other hand… Cerise could tell as much, knew what she was doing.

Darling sat opposite to the hooded girl, closing her eyes to feel the cool morning breeze; then she looked to the curled girl in front of her, a kind smile on her lips.

"Isn't it stuffy?" she asked, gaining Cerise's attention.

"Huh?"

"The hood. Isn't it hot?" Darling explained, motioning with her chin, her arms supporting her as she laid back (a position much alike her brother's).

Cerise stopped her destruction of nature to look up, understanding: The princess in front of her was attempting at small talk, an effort to eradicate the overall awkward atmosphere surrounding them since the day before. Cerise knew, this was an amazing opportunity to become better friends with someone she'd never had that much of a relationship. It was a good thing! A good way to go beyond the usual greetings… her hood might have not been the best starting point though.

"N-no, I'm used to it." She answered unconsciously hiding herself deeper in the cloth, as her right hand came up to clutch it and pull it down.

"Hmm, I see…" Darling interjected, her tone defeated and her sight falling to the side considering that pushing the subject was not a good idea.

The silence called Cerise to summon her confident side. Granted, she was feeling down and grumpy but Darling was nowhere near guilty for it. She uncurled herself and opted for a more relaxed pose, again resting on her hands, pushing herself forward to straighten her back. "Hmm, it's kind of a lucky charm…"

Darling drew her sight up front before moving her head entirely. She smiled again, conceding Cerise her attention and prompting her to proceed.

"I mean. It is much more than that… but I guess, what I'm trying to say is that I feel much more relaxed wearing it," Cerise continued shrugging at her own statement, a little smile landing on her face.

"Oh! I get that. I feel similarly when wearing my armor. Like all the pressure just vanishes and I can just let myself flow." Darling added, nodding and gesturing enthusiastically at the feeling.

"Yeah, just like that." Cerise noticed the conversation was dying slowly with the seconds, as she regretted her finishing statements and her early anxiety rose again. She looked back at Darling in search of another conversation topic, just to find the girl enjoying the breeze once more with her eyes closed. ' _They are more alike than they think…_ ' She thought, the image of her Charming friend overlapping with his sister's.

Daring had expressed many times how he usually couldn't find common ground with his siblings, how he understood the blood bond between them but how he couldn't see it. He obviously loved his brother and sister very much; based on the nostalgic stories he shared from time to time (his doting on the later very noticeable one may say); but he had already faced the idea of how none of them mirrored him and had come to terms with it. ' _Oh, boy. How wrong he is,_ ' Cerise stated in her mind as a blonde rebellious ringlet came down from the otherwise perfect ponytail to adorn the forehead of the peaceful girl; daring to not only find some traits of her clueless friend in Darling but almost considering her his reflection.

Nonetheless… Darling was not Daring, Cerise knew as much; her problem at hand retrieving its place at the front of her thoughts after noticing the slow pace of time. How to start a conversation without any context? Well, she could retrieve her idea and talk about how much she resembled her brother. ' _May be a bad idea_ ,' the red girl reconsidered; remembering how much it bothered _her_ when being compared with Ramona. Do not compare people with their siblings, kids; you'll never know how that ends. Maybe she could talk about the training; about how frustrated she felt? Hmmm, no. What about the weather? Not very original, right? Right. With the options shrinking and the clock ticking, Cerise found herself thinking of the most received advice from her most honest friend. Sometimes it's just better to tell the truth. And the truth was she was primarily worried about being a bother.

"I'm sorry for taking your time to train me, Darling, I know it may be a little…" she fought to find the correct word, "… inconvenient."

Upon summoning the dumfounded sight of the blonde she promptly added in a solemn and honest unwavering tone '…and, thank you."

"No need to be, Cerise. Believe me I would not have taken the chance if I were to find it inconvenient." Darling replied with soft eyes.

"But surely you are not training as hard as you are used to… I'm holding you back, right?" Cerise inquired the worry unwilling to melt at any comforting expression.

"Well, yes, that is true." The cheery girl replied while stretching to the side, finding a water bottle; her tone all to relaxed on the matter for Cerise's liking, bringing the brows of the red girl closer in worry.

"However, it is a good long term investment." Darling added while handing the bottle to Cerise, her smile all the way up to bend the corner of her eyes as opposed to the other girl's frown.

"How?" the red girl asked while gladly accepting the water.

"Well, I may not be training as hard for a couple of weeks… but after that I will earn a sparring partner and that, Cerise, is incredibly valuable."

Darling earned a confused look from her companion, a question forming as she slid the cape off her bottle. "Don't you spar with Daring or Dex?"

"I started to do so with Daring very recently, from time to time." The knight let out a sigh as she leaned forward cross legging, her expression sobering and her lips almost a perfect pout. "The thing is he is my older brother and… my open interest in training is still new to him. I don't blame him, up to not so long ago he was used to thinking I was a damsel… it surely is hard to change one's habits; so there is always this unspoken commitment of fraternal protection." She brought a hand to rest her forehead, waiting a couple of seconds to lift her head along the movement of her hand sliding back to push the ringlet off her face, her hand stopping at the top of her head while stating: "He won't admit it but I can tell he is certainly holding himself back. He's never trying to push further from where he thinks is my limit." She brought both her hands to rest in front of her. "Dexter comes without saying," she said with a dismissive hand gesture, "he won't even play with the notion of lifting a hand against me, let alone a sword," she finished with a roll of her eyes.

Looking back to Cerise, who had just finished her drinking, she practically summarized: "They are always too afraid of hurting me."

Cerise twisted the cap on the bottle close and handed it back to Darling. "I don't really want to hurt you either." She stated as the _you_ she was referring to took the bottle.

"I thrust you don't, and believe me, nor do I. But I'm sure you'll agree with me that in the lack of a family bond, we might be capable of pushing each other past our real limits, ensuring growth for both of us." Darling finished by taking a big gulp of water herself.

"I see." Cerise conceded, understanding the benefits the knight earned by training her and finally reassuring her… she was, indeed, not a bother.

Noticing the faint relief washing over the hooded girl, judging by the drop of her shoulders and the heavy sigh, Darling stood up satisfied."Well, with that settled, I'll excuse myself. See I have some sweet treats awaiting me and I do not see fit in keeping them long." She extended her hand to the still sitting girl (her knightly habits showing, huh?)

"So early?" Cerise found herself asking before knowing while taking the help; obviously overlooking her own eating habits as a girl in contrast to those of you know, details aside, an actual princess. One would think they are all fruit and tea in the morning.

"Ginger." Darling let out softly, eyes unfocussed looking past Cerise in front of her; the flow of the word leaving a discreet smile behind.

"Ahem… Ginger is in the habit of starting her day in the ovens." Darling awkwardly forced herself to finish and explain. "Something about recipes conceived in her dreams." She stated without a hint of mockery, her face reflecting something between amazement and admiration. "She awakes incredibly early to finish the confection and be in time for class. I happened to be invited to accompany her and sample her early creations when finding her after finishing my routine once upon a time. From there on it has more or less become part of my schedule." Darling finished standing proud but shyly scratching the top of her nose with the side of her finger. Cerise couldn't help but notice Darling's speech becoming less rigid and more natural as she continued on. ' _Seems like I wasn't the only one nervous._ '

"I know pastries are not the best of breakfasts; but, incredibly so, sharing some during that time spent in the kitchen…" Darling's energy abruptly paused, as if just noticing what she was saying; her growing excitement fading with a deep breath, her left hand finding rest in the back of her neck. She looked again _at_ Cerise and with an apologetic smile finished her idea: "…it helps me recover faster from exhaustion and lifts my spirits."

"Hmm, never knew that 'bout Ginger," Cerise said in between amazement of both Ginger's routine and how much she didn't know about the few friends she had.

"Oh! I don't think anyone else does actually. I also happened to find out by chance. Would you like to come? Sure it won't be a problem. You may even understand it better if you experience it yourself," Darling replied, understanding that Ginger was friends with Cerise and somewhat feeling embarrassed at the possibility of giving the idea of being special of some sort to the baker… though it made her a tiny wee (maybe more) happy.

"No, that's fine," the red girl said while stretching, oblivious to what happened trough the white princess mind. Releasing a little pain of her sore body and looking up front with a fresh expression she added: "I should hurry somewhere else."

"Are you, perhaps, visiting Briar again?" Darling asked, noticing a behavior pattern similar to the day before.

Cerise got caught off guard. "Y-yeah… I mean, gotta get her thronework for the teachers and all," she said trying her best to sound natural… and failing… like usual. "I also kinda like to check how she's doing… she gets bored easily," she finished, managing to be a little more honest in front of her trainer, which whom she was strangely feeling comfortable with. ' _Weird…'_ she found herself thinking, _'…maybe the charm runs in the family._ '

"Well, let's not keep each other any longer then, send my regards to Briar," Darling said as she picked her bag and hung it up her shoulder.

"Ok, say hi to Ginger too," responded the other girl, mimicking her trainer's action.

"Will do. Until class," the white princess waved while going ahead and leaping in the school's direction.

"Tomorrow at the same time?!" Shouted Cerise before losing sight of the running girl. At the sight of Darling turning back to nod while still running on the site she shouted before heading to the charmitotium: "Ok, see you in class!"

* * *

"Oh! Hello, Cerise. Good morning." Cerise was received before knocking the door, the expression on the girl's face apologetic for surprising her.

"Hi, Ashlynn." She managed to reply while taking a step back from the sudden proximity.

"Sorry to scare you, sweetie, I am on my way down for breakfast. Coming from training?" Ashlynn said emphasizing with her chin to Cerise's sportswear: a gray tracksuit with red and white accents, a wide and representative red hood atop of her head; a really rare sight for even early risers.

"Ah… yeah. Just wanted to check on Briar before class…" Cerise said shyly shifting her weight from one foot to the other, looking down to the floor and up to Ashlynn's eyes while taking the handle of her basket with both hands to position it behind her.

"Great timing!" The cheerful princess exclaimed making Cerise jerk back in surprise. She's been cranky all morning. You always seem to cheer her up," she added with a bright and honest smile.

"R-really?" the red girl asked, trying her best to hide her awkward happiness while bringing her right hand to the back of her neck and lowering her face into the shadow of her hood.

"Yeah! See if you can convince her to have breakfast at least, would you?" Ashlynn answered while leaning to the side to look up at the other girl's face.

At this, the shy girl looked up and brought the attention to the basket on her left hand, dropping its counterpart from her neck. "I was hoping we could eat together… I brought my basket and…"

"You are an angel, Cerise." Ashlynn stepped in taking Cerise's left cheek with her right hand in a gentle movement, ensuring the attention of the girl's eyes.

"No I just…" The red girl found no escape from the princess sight, her heart beating at the fear of discovery; her mind rapidly running to the short distance between the hand at her cheek and her ear. In her inner commotion she found the princess caring eyes, something in their manner reminiscing of their owner's longtime rush lover friend. Cerise relaxed and finally formulated her answer to her companion's previous words, failing to see whatever after led them to be spoken: "…it's nothing."

At this Ashlynn eyes grew, if possible, even fonder. "Oh, It _is_ something, sweetie," she said, her words brimming with honesty. "Thank you," she finished softly patting twice the cheek where her hand rested before letting go of it. "See you around!" she shouted while turning and leaving the other girl alone before she could notice that she was. Cerise then raised her hand and brushed her fingertips just where the gone girl's hand had been seconds ago, pondering the meaning of their conversation.

"Just who are you talking to, Ash?" Came a voice from inside the room, shaking the red girl back to reality. She passed through the half open door, measuring her steps, unsure if she should have knocked even though it was open.

"Um… she just left." Cerise responded once she was in the other girl's field of vision. Briar, still on her pajamas and sitting comfy in bed, looked up from her mirrorpad to the standing girl; blinking silently a couple of times. "Good morning?" The red girl shrugged after the silence had stretched enough.

Briar stared at Cerise a bit more before dropping her sight to her device and then turning her head to it entirely."You're gonna stand there the whole day?" She curtly asked, minding some app or another on her screen.

Cerise flinched at the cold treatment, a challenging grin falling on her face, her response filled with a playful tone in contrast to the princess': "You would like that, don't you?"

The pink girl didn't bother to look at the red one, rolling her eyes to the side and replying in annoyance "Ha. Ha."

Most would have felt personally taken by this cruel treatment, so unfair and not short of a spoiled kid; but Cerise wasn't _most_. See, the red girl enjoyed the spice and lack of filters with which the princess showered her; since it betrayed all the lessons and classes, hours invested in proper etiquette and princess-ly stuff royals were built upon. Hurt? No. If something, Cerise felt proud of how much she had advanced through Briar's shields in such a short time, she felt happy to know that unpolished version a few close friends had experienced firsthand. It was special, indeed; because no matter how you see it, even though some may say Briar is not the most refined of the royals and is not afraid of speaking her mind, the times she has gone out of proper behavior by laying her heart out are scarce, _that_ if you forget the fact she apologized mere moments after (like a princess does). Godmother, even Apple White had some greater and improper outbursts, like getting out of her curls and raising a hand (and throwing an apple) in unchained anger! Understanding all the aforementioned, it's easier to say that yes, Cerise made an honor out of being object of the princess' raw emotion.

"Yikes… Ashlynn was right. You are being cranky. What's up?" The red girl responded, her light mood being almost contagious, while finally stepping closer to the bed, leaning arm-crossed on her left side over the right pillar at the foot of its canopy and her basket lying right in front of her feet.

"Pfft, What do you think is up?" Briar let out a sour chuckle, momentarily looking up to the red girl.

"What did Baba Yaga said?" Cerise's head fell towards the pillar to rest on it too.

"Five more days…"

"It kinda makes me think this is more like you're grounded than in observation," Cerise tilted her head forward in an attempt to look directly to the girl in bed.

"So I'm not the only one seeing it," Briar didn't concede the other girl her attention, her eyes shifting from one side to the other on her screen, the light reflection drawing multicolored pools on darkened mauve; ' _Just as fireworks on a night sky,'_ the standing girl thought while a smile fell on her face to both appreciate and mock her own poetic skills.

Still smiling Cerise said: "I'll keep coming everyday then," immediately berating herself for the cheesiest and most embarrassing response she had ever uttered… but playing it cool (or at least trying).

(Fortunately for the red girl) Briar took the response as another tease and therefore a challenge, her mirrorpad falling forgotten to the side. "What? Does not look like I can have fun on my own?" the princess finally looked up to the other girl accompanied by a royal tone and face; heavy lids over severe eyes and a raised eyebrow.

Playing along, Cerise took a step forward and stood straight with her left arm folded hiding her hand behind her back; her right one motioning as she spoke in an overacted fancy tone "Surely you'll appreciate the company, princess."

"Please, don't flatter yourself. What makes you think you're the only option I have?" Briar kept character. Her head fell back to softly rest on her closed right hand; whose arm was supported by a big pillow to her side; as she covered with her left hand a faked yawn, her cold stare never leaving gray eyes.

Cerise didn't notice how bad she was salivating as she witnessed the movements until she heard herself gulp. ' _Man, Lizzie got nothing on her bossiness…_ ' "Bet not many would endure the crankiness," she answered still overacting her fancy speech. _'…She can have my head any day.'_

 _Ahem!_

You ok there, Dad?

 _Chuckle-_ Maybe you should omit Cerise's thoughts for the sake of your father's well being… unless you want to take a break, Dear.

I would appreciate if you let her thoughts where none of us can hear them…

Ok! _Giggle-_ They were getting interesting though…

Brooke.

I'm just kidding!

"So you say." Briar scoffed, her eyes growing darker and cutting.

Cerise took another step forward and smiled as if wining while bending forward to bow while still holding the princess sight. Briar felt a chill run through her body as Cerise's raspy voice finished their game with her honest usual tone: "Well… I'm here, your highness," ' _me and no one else,'_ the following silence said.

"Pffft!" Briar couldn't help but laugh. The tension had built up so much she found impossible to keep a straight face. Her laughter was so open and natural it was contagious; Cerise gave in, also infected by the light feeling the princess giggles awoke at the top of her belly. Cackling filled the room until their sides hurt, the red girl bending even further gasping for air and the princess falling on her side to lie on her bed and try to suffocate the laughter on her pillow. Finally gaining some composure and between gasps, Briar murmured: "Cocky little red…" while looking at the other girl controlling herself too from the corner of her eyes, her head still on her pillow.

From her position, Briar looked at Cerise standing straight again and then retrieving something from the far end of her bed, suddenly taking notice of the girls sportswear (her mood obviously lighter, am I right?) "Morning training?" The princess asked as if scolding the hooded girl while watching the later walk to her side. A slight limping on the red girl's right leg prompting the pink one to ask: "How's your foot?"

"Hmm, it has been better," Cerise stated with a smile, looking down at the princess face over the pillows and knowing better than to let the soft resting waves of caramel and pink tresses distract her from the royal concern of the mauve orbs. "It's fine. Had it checked. They say it will be completely healed before the game against Neverland."

At the last word Briar took a nearby free pillow to place it over her head. Her voice muffled, she said: "Ugh… I don't even want to think about that."

Cerise rolled her eyes and smiled while crouching beside the bed. Her basket landing beside her once more, the red girl raised her left hand to lift the edge of the pillow allowing her to meet the princess face. Then she unconsciously tilted her head to the right while asking "How's the party planning going?"

"It'll be going better in five days," Briar pouted from the depths of her cover. Cerise smile turned smug and in a fast movement lifted completely the pillow only to smash it again down on the princess face, making her rise to a sitting position with a death stare thirsty of vengeance.

An angelical expression mocking the pink girl's now unruly hair welcomed her with a basket offered in peace. "Wanna talk it over a bite?" Briar heard the other girl say.

Her killing intent surprisingly crushed by the thoughtful offering, the pink princess was left to fight with weak remarks, attempted while she ran her right hand over her head fixing the mess: "Indoor morning picnic?" She said hinting disapproval as if she could manage to convince anyone.

"Picnics are timeless and placeless, princess," Cerise stated while already placing her share over Briar's night table.

"Pfft! didn't know that was a thing." The princess kept playing difficult, betrayed by her interest on the source of a delicious smell.

"It must be somewhere." The red girl said half heartedly, handing the pink one a cloth napkin to place over her lap.

At the lack of intensity Briar laughed softly, finally lowering her guard and taking the plate from Cerise's hand: "All right, I'll take your word for it."

The rest of the meal was spent along small chat and goofy remarks; to the hooded girl an invaluable scene of mundane activities, trivial matters that completed her in some way or another. Neither drama, nor action or hexcitement fitted between their seconds, and they weren't needed. The mere fact of sharing those minutes with the princess; getting a stain somewhere, almost chocking, the biting of a tongue or the inside of a cheek, even her complaining about the lack of vegetables on her plate; filled her with warmth. There weren't any death or life decisions; there were no doubts or challenges; there were no titles or blood bonds; there were no royals or rebels; there were no destinies. They were both there, and that was it.

A soft smile fell discreetly upon Cerise's face, remembering the words of Darling not more than an hour before then, hoping someday being able to tell her trainer she understood those feelings as well. She got them very well.

"Did you finish your report for Rumpelstiltskin?" Cerise asked as she finished putting everything back in her basket.

"It's on my desk, along the rest of my thronework," Briar answered while watching the red girl walk around her bed towards the other side of her room, letting her basket fall where it had been before. Cerise took the pile of parchment and thin books to scan them and make sure they were in order.

"I'll hand them today as well," Cerise said while turning to face the bed. Setting the pile of thronework on the bed, the red girl kneeled at the right of the canopy and placed her folded arms over the mattress to rest her head over them, facing up to a sitting Briar.

"What would I do without you?" The princess admitted, her right hand falling to pet the hooded girl; her hand taking in the softness of the red cloth and her eyes the cuteness on the blissful expression of its owner.

"You would probably ask Apple or Ashlynn to do it," Cerise let out lightly, unaware of the heavy feelings behind her companion's statement.

"Cerise." Briar said firmly, her hand slowly falling to the girl's bangs, softly brushing them to the side, before going lower to her chin; her fingers care ensuring the gray sight would not escape hers: "I want to thank you properly…"

Cerise leaned in the touch, comfortable with the soft cares. She breathed deeply, taking the last instants of their careless time, and then answered with a knowing smile: "It's nothing. I'm only taking your books back and forth."

"You know what I'm referring to."

"I do." The answer time was measured, preventing the ire of the royal. Another deep breath was taken: "But as I said before, there is no need. I didn't do it for that. I just did it."

Their sights had not left the other, and believing they would not, Briar let go of the girl's face: "But, I want to do it. Princess nature, you know?"

"I'm just not comfortable with it."

"Neither I, like this." The princess stated before the quiet answer could win the upper hand. Still set on wining, these two… it's not a challenge every time, girls! "You are not a knight, Cerise." The named girl retreating her sight with a flinch came unnoticed as the princess proceeded, "I know how they all have this code to selflessly serve and never expect a reward, and the Charmings may have fed your head with it but…" The pause forced Cerise to look up again, and as if awaiting her attention Briar continued on cue: "… even knights sometimes receive small gifts like handkerchiefs…" The red girl froze in place and then felt the time slowing as the rest of the phrase set fire to her skin, starting from the tips of her fingertips until meeting the tips of her ears "…or…" Briar herself tasted the embarrassment as the last word left her lips, her increasing heartbeat bringing pink to where it was missing on her complexion "…kisses."

An eternity ruled by silence passed between them, until one by one all the exterior sounds made their appearance; the song of birds, the swift of wind… Humphrey's 'I'm ok!' in the distance. Trembling lips fought to please the heart of Cerise while it was strangled by the shame, the thought running back and forward in her mind before closing her eyes to build her courage and set it free. "Well…"

"Just let me treat you to something," Briar said an octave higher than usual, seeming like she was also conscious of the silence "Once I can leave this tower prison, let's do something you like, or… or I'll get you anything you want, just name it."

Shame and embarrassment, maybe even guilt, were the feelings setting at the pit of the red girl's stomach. Feelings that served as a leash and pulled her back to her first posture: "Briar… I…"

"Please…" Pleading eyes demanded attention when Briar hand took hold of Cerise's. The comfortable feeling from the touch serving as firewood to the already strong lump of self-berating the red girl was dealing with.

Biting her lower lip to keep it obedient, Cerise smiled up at her companion and stated: "How about we hang out like normal and you call it my reward. That way I won't feel it like a reward and you can be satisfied."

"No."

Cerise was taken aback as she looked up to find the royal stare of before. She shook her head in disbelief and worded her discontent: "This is supposed to be where you agree and we are all happy, princess."

"I won't buy it."

"But…"

"You're not getting the easy way out." The princess pulled the breaks on the red girl's arguments. "What's the point of the reward if it isn't?" Cerise's mind ran back to the state they both were after the incident, her pride still demanding justice for Briar's condition, the feeling of unworthiness raising exponentially and her want of a reward becoming more and more despicable…"There must be something you want, something I can do and you royally want." Cerise's wants kept pulling her to the lips of the princess, disgust of herself making her suffer.

"There is nothing like that…" the hooded girl responded slowly pulling back and hiding under the red cloth.

"See, there is!" Briar counterattacked by taking firmer hold of the other girl's hand.

"Nothing, princess. Just let it go." Cerise faced Briar in almost anger, her fangs showing and a soft growl escaping her. The princess intensity fell, taking the unreadable of the face before her, her sight falling to their joined hands. She was now on her knees over the bed and her hand was the only thing keeping Cerise close, as the girl seemed to be pulling herself back and far from her.

Briar took a sad breath before asking, more to herself than to the red girl: "Why won't you tell me?"

"There is nothing," Cerise's quiet tone matched Briar's in both the intention and softness. More silence. However, the princess, taking notice of both their hopelessness, decided to take down her royal demeanor and just be honest because _'We both want honesty, right?'_

"Cerise, look at me," Briar encouraged the named girl to look up, retreating her figure to sit and give the red girl space; not letting go of her hand but softening her hold. "You saved my life," She said almost like a whisper, soft pink lips being bitten to fight the lump forming on her throat, "I will never be able to repay that, I know."

"Then why?"

"You are my friend…" Briar cut in, "…and I at least want to fully express my gratitude. Not because of owing or duty… just because I want to." Letting out a trembling sigh she asked: "Won't you let me?"

Cerise calmed down, her shoulders falling in harmony with a great exhalation, her hand freeing itself from the other girl's grasp. Gray focused on mauve and for an instant on plump lips, then again to mauve. "Alright… you win." She finally said while rubbing her eyes with her now free hand.

Briar squeal was quieted by her surprise. The princess leaned forward in anticipation for the words to be spoken. Cerise blood rushed to her face letting her hands cold and damp while her heart beat started to get louder. And then, understanding how it was impossible to run away from the situation, she forced the phrase to be uttered:

"I… want you to… to…"

"Aha…"

"You know what? It's dumb… forget it, just don't force me to eat carrots again and we are ev-" Cerise stopped herself, a small smile announcing an awfully well timed realization. The girl heartedly looked past Briar, the small request being a more fitting true desire: something she could look forward to and be satisfied without the guilt her previous thought summoned.

"I want you to cheer for me…" She said in all seriousness, her eyes focusing back on the princess face with a content expression.

"Huh?"

"At the bookball game…" Cerise expanded "…cheer for me." And there, her wishful thinking was suppressed. ' _There is nothing wrong with asking this, nothing at all_ ' she thought contently. And yet the girl in red allowed herself this much selfishness; to fully convey her feelings over her solicitude: "For me." She repeated, her voice afraid of discovery and her eyes contradictory full of hope.

Briar looked baffled, her sight following her thoughts, in a rather confusing sequence (if her face changing expressions were an indicator); it just felt odd, like something was missing, was Cerise just asking for whatever after? Was there a difference in asking her to be there and cheer? She was planning to attend and show her support for the team anyways! Cerise's wants didn't make any sense! However, when she managed to refocus her attention on the both hopeful and terrified heart in front of her, it clicked.

' _Just for me._ '

' _Oh, I see…'_ Briar felt her heart clench as she did her best to not just hug the red out of the precious creature in front of her. Cerise's lost puppy eyes awakened the princess weakness for them again, and I bet that if she could, she would have eaten those rosy cheeks one bite at a time. "Cerise…" Briar said once her inner fangirl calmed down.

Briar extended her hand forward and chuckled at Cerise's little jump. "Gimme your hand," she explained softly, ensuring she would not scare the girl in front more than she already was. The red girl hesitantly obeyed and as if responding to 'paw' placed her left hand on the princess right. "I will be there." Briar promised over their joined hands, and then proceeded to place them palm in palm, fingers looking to the sky. Carefully she leaned forward to touch foreheads with Cerise to vow like she did as a kid. Softly, her voice filled the empty space between them: "I'll be there shouting your name, ok? So you better score for me."

They spent a couple of seconds just like that, foreheads touching and eyes unfocused looking down. The tranquil tinker of the fairies in the room, their light a bit redder as they witnessed the act mesmerized and quiet, made both girls wonder if they were, perhaps, just dreaming.

"I will." Cerise let out, as that old dumb smile made its way back to her face at the feeling of their noses' slight touch.

"That settles it then!" Briar suddenly exclaimed in response, retrieving her figure back to her sitting position on the bed, and resting her back on the pillows."You just renewed my excitement for the game."

Still processing what had happened, the red girl shook her head and rested once again on her arms over the mattress; caring eyes taking the image of the beauty and a smile blooming full of affection. "Sure it will make the next five days easier for you."

Noticing the other girl's stare on her, Briar felt strange. Somehow, she felt exposed, but safe at the same time; and surprising even herself she felt like acting… bashful? "hmm…" She responded looking down to her hands, her left thumb caressing her right palm where a warm feeling still lingered. The princess glanced to Cerise and back to her hands a couple of times before consciously using her right hand to fix her hair behind her ear, letting it follow the inertia of the movement to fall on her bed. Then she patted twice the spot besides her. "Hey… Wanna lay down with me for a bit?"

"Wha- why?"

"Just because."

Cerise stood up, her hands up front in a 'stop' manner "I don't really-"

"C'mon, just a tiny little bit." The princess interrupted, amused by the red girl's reactions. Said girl struggling to keep her brain functions working properly, the sly pink smile making it harder by the second.

"I- I- I- I-"

"Godmother, Cerise." Briar snapped and reached to take the red girl by her wrist, slowly pulling and forcing her to kneel one leg on the bed; silently guiding her to the princess side, where softness awaited; white cotton bed sheets, silk royal robes and the smooth skin it… covered…

"You know?!" Cerise exclaimed higher than usual jumping back, scared by her own thoughts. She fell back to the floor, the sudden pull being strong enough to sent her back. "Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry!" She said standing up again before Briar could even ask what she was answering, and then she didn't stop: "See… I should probably go, I've been running and stuff, so I'm probably in royal need of a shower, yup. And look at the time! I better run, so I can do that and make it in time for class." She said while taking her basket and the thronework on the bed. "I'll take care of these," she expanded emphasizing to the thin books and parchment "Good to see you are doing well," she finally said as a farewell, halfway through the door. Briar made to call her out, sure it would be pointless and there would be a door slam.

"Cer-"

"Can I come back in the evening?" The red girl stopped to ask at the doorframe, looking back to the bed with a hopeful expression and making Briar's heart clench one last time.

"Do you really need to ask?" the pink girl asked with a sigh, a small smile giving approval discretely.

Cerise nodded back in understanding, a content face reassuring the other girl before she finished: "Til then, princess," and carefully closed the door.

* * *

 **Hello!**

 **I'm sorry for taking so long with the updates but a lot of stuff went on xD just yesterday I noticed it has been almost 5 months since last chapter! wow! It did not feel that long!**

 **See this one was originally one with the next chapter... but while writting it I realized it was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much stuff for a single chapter and it was just getting longer so... I divided it so they are apart and I don't take any longer to update some progress C:**

 **Needless to say I'm already working on next chapter which will come with... questions -v- (cuz you need questions before you have answers)**

 **Thanks for following this story! and Hope you stay until the very end (which as I said before... keeps getting further and further xD)**

 **Thank you very much and Charm you later!**


	7. Ch 06- Fall in L---

Is everyone ready?

I am. Dear?

Yeah, let's continue Brooke.

Ok. Just as a brief recap! Last chapter we saw Cerise's interactions with her new trainer (Darling) and Briar six days after the whole Beanstalk incident; which culminated with Cerise finally giving in to Briar's need to thank her properly by revealing her true heart's desire of being cheered in her upcoming bookball game against Neverland High. However, a whole bunch of unnamed emotions mixed with hexcitement, happiness and worry have taken over the girls' minds and the day has only started. I can't wait to see what happens next!

Briar let herself fall back to her pillows when the sound of steps that came after the door closing faded away. She looked at the ceiling of her canopy, shaking her head and rolling her eyes with a smile as she raised and stared at her promise hand instead; the image of Cerise and the last hour replaying in her mind. Then the blurry image of the sky and the feeling of falling merged with her vision for a second. The flash made her pull her hand down to her side and clench the sheets as she took a big breath and let out a shaky sigh. And then… her memory drove her back to the infirmary.

* * *

" _Let's talk outside," the princess heard, finally realizing who was talking, the sounds that followed giving away some movement in the bed at her side and steps going further giving her a cue to stop acting. Briar carefully opened a single eye to peer her surroundings. She was alone, aside from the medical fairies running above her and their tinkles. She relaxed and finally moved trying as much as she could not to disturb the bluish creatures; who knew acting being asleep was so difficult?_

 _The pink girl had been up for some time now, managing to put in order the events of the day before and whatever happened while she was unconscious. She had cursed the extra time for also giving her enough space to self berate, for allowing her to stare at Cerise's resting figure in such a state; one that was hexcruciating to watch and made her eyelids tremble along her lower lip while she closed her eyes. Water threatened to leave her eyes every time she remembered the girl's body conditions before being taken to the infirmary._

' _It was a good thing I woke up…' she thought now, 'I surely have no right to listen to their conversation… I have given her enough problems…' a soft hint of humor made her reprimand herself harder instead of lightening her morning. A part of the princess kept telling her she was being too harsh with herself while the other filled her with guilt and shame and horror. It was a debate she had been having all morning and the appearance of Ramona at the door had just made it worse. 'I have no part in their affairs… this mind of mine should keep being busy with_ MY _own problems… or…_ ME _being a problem.' Briar pulled the sheets closing her fists, her body tense as another wave of fear and negative emotions towards herself summoned a new set of tears on her throat. As she got it under control however, her thoughts while looking at the ceiling kept coming back in circles. The sight of the sky replaced the ceiling a couple of times, in so many forms, and her falling history made it to her mind's eye._

' _It just… has happened so many times before…' She realized, her heart fighting the indifference she had always felt with awareness that she had always felt it… 'There has always been someone to catch me… Mom, Dad, my friends…and now… Cerise…' She felt the urge to close her eyes and cringe again, then as she opened her fearful eyes the notion of 'Destiny' slowly came back, a frown full of pain falling to her face, 'So my destiny IS to sleep as long as I'm supposed to… this curse won't even let me die… before it happens…' A relief flew over her, overshadowed next by the shame that came after it. Cerise's state coming back making her reprimand her exponentially exposed selfishness 'but that doesn't mean it won't keep somebody else from getting hurt in my behalf…' Her mind tried to reassure her by also bringing Cerise's destiny up… but the effect was minimized. Cerise's destiny and her destiny, both their legacies were completely different in more than just their fairytales endings._

 _The image of The Story Book of Legends made her bite her lip in pure anger, her furrowing becoming clearer, tears filled with fury arriving at the edge of her eyes. 'So much for nothing…' she trailed coughing and releasing the drops between sobs, letting them fall to her face sides and find their way to her ears. The book, that stayed prominent as her sobs died down, started to look more and more distorted until she heard it break like an enchanted mirror. Something didn't make sense… 'I'm resting right now, aren't I?' She still had it in her to question… to Rebel… 'I should be asleep now… I should… but I'm not! Why?! Why_ then _and not_ now _?!' A thought of 'you're just deluding yourself, trying to find reason where there is none, looking for answers that aren't there, giving yourself hope when you are nothing more than another piece in this eternal role filling world…' tried to crush her down again when Cerise and Ramona made their way through the door, forcing her to close her eyes again. The thoughts not leaving her mind for a single second._

 _The silence behind the movements in the other bed still kept her brainwork going; 'Why then? Why me? … Why… Cerise?' the name called the deprecating feelings back yet once again when she felt a sudden touch at the tips of her fingers, the ones closest to the other girl. The touch was silent but carried so much… something. And Briar couldn't even process how the subtle warmth quieted the princess brain and almost made her open her eyes. No words could have calmed her, no friends support, no empowering song, but a single touch suddenly made it all ok._

 _A soft smile sneaked on Briar's expression, before she felt her teary eyes heavy, the previously missing cloud of tiredness announcing itself over the princess, her body relaxing from her acting pose and all her functions but her special ability going to energy saving mode. The soft touch left her, and following a series of rustles from Cerise's bed she last heard her saying "I need to find Daring."_

* * *

Briar lied on her side staring at both her hands; a ghostly feeling of warmth on her left's fingertips and a whole promise hanging on her right palm; meanwhile all the red girl's faces came to her like a slideshow; her worried face, her annoyed face, her embarrassed face, her sassy face, her serious face, her warm smile, her bright smile, etc. The clench at the princess heart was almost unbearable and letting out a squeal she brought her hands to her chest while curling into a ball, her fangirling out for everyone to see… or hear. A knock on the window frame echoed through the room, marking the end of Briar's bliss and announcing the entrance of a certain dark fairy.

"Is it safe to come in now?" Faybelle asked already standing in the middle of the room, wearing a sneer while scanning the girl on the bed. Briar held herself up with her arms and squinted at the other girl; suffocating seconds of uncertainty making her suffer. Had she- "Or do you need more time to finish your gross high school girl squealing?" Yup, she heard.

"Shush, Faybelle, I _am_ a highschool girl and I can do with my tower time as I see fit," the princess sat on the edge of her bed, stretching while toying with the idea of finally getting up.

"It's still gross." Faybelle said dismissively as she walked around the room, looking around… in a really suspicious way. After letting a growl out, the princess eyed the fairy, carefully measuring her actions before raising her head in frustration and asking:

"What-"

"So…" Faybelle interrupted choosing to place herself atop of Briar's desk "I had some time in my hands, what's with skipping class and all that, and I kinda came to check on your sorry face." The princess leaned front raising an eyebrow at her companion. "Feeling miserable?" the girl at the desk mimicked the other's movements but wearing her representative smile. Briar changed position by falling back on her left hand and cheerily looking at the other with a sudden tender expression.

"No. I'm actually quite alright." Briar said so sweetly it made Faybelle's taste buds feel sick.

"So your puppy came, huh?" She murmured to herself mockingly while regaining her stomach's composure.

"Did you say something?" said Briar coming back to this realm.

"Noupe." The blue girl trailed with a roll of her eyes, "just wondering if someone else came to visit," she added while rolling a pencil on the desk back and forth, a certain knowing look.

"Hmmm…" Briar hesitated taking her hands to her lap and looking away. Wait- ' _What?_ ' Oh! She thought the same I did! Ahem ' _What am I hiding stuff for?_ '

We are all asking ourselves the same, aren't we?

Shh, Love, let her continue.

Briar tossed the thought aside and answered, "Yeah, Cerise came early today… We had breakfast."

"Heeeh." Faybelle trailed teasingly at the princess reserved tone. This somehow irked the girl at the bed and noticing once more the fairy's anxious movements she raised her voice again.

"What are you doing here, Faybelle?"

"What? Can't a dark fairy pay her best frienemy a visit?" the blue girl said overacting sweetness, dropping the pencil on the floor. Briar crossed her arms and rose and eyebrow. "Yeah, you're right…" Faybelle bit her upper lip, "my mom called."

"Oh! How's auntie doing?" Briar said her mood suddenly bright.

"Yeeeeah…" Faybelle started taking a big breath and shrugging slowly. Dropping her shoulders she proceeded, "she's furious. Had to tell her I pushed you myself for her to calm down."

"Oh…" Briar's face dropped its color, understanding the nature of the Dark Fairy's call.

"Yup." Faybelle interjected while rubbing her right ear at the memory. The princess looked at her hands on her lap once more and looked up to the other girl, forcing herself to smile.

"You really told her that?" Briar looked back, her usual character returning.

"You doubt it?" the pink girl laughed at her sassy friend ' _Off course you did_.'

"So, she's worried?"

"You bet! I wish she worried about me as much as she does about you," Faybelle's tone was light and mocking but both of them knew her words held some meaning behind all that.

"She cares a lot about you, Belle."

"What? You said something?" Faybelle leaned forward her right hand behind her ear. Her tone much lighter than before, "I can't hear you over your favorite child voice, little sis!" Briar pouted and frowned to the challenging girl's face, both of them holding their sights until they bursted into laughs; their conversation carrying as an inside joke. But once the giggles stopped, the girl at the desk took back an uncomfortable stand.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there." Faybelle said with a roll of her eyes, trying to stay cool about it, but failing since the guilt hung from her face enough for her sister, in everything but name, to notice. "Nice caretaker I turned to be, huh?" She said self-deprecating, consciously rubbing her left upper arm.

"Don't give me that!" Briar yelled pointing to the other girl as she stood up. "And don't get all sentimental about it either. That's not like you," she added when she noticed the glassy pale grey. However her tone relaxed a little, along with how Faybelle was looking smaller, her sassiness nowhere in sight. "We agreed you wouldn't be my bodyguard," the girl in pink stated while walking towards her desk. She stood a few steps before it and crossed her arms to go with a stern tone after a firm sigh. "You shouldn't feel responsible for what happened; I'll kick your spell off if you do. You hear me?" Years of companionship had taught Briar to never feel for the dark fairy when she was down; but to come at her challenging so she could climb back up. "We are in this together; we both deserve freedom before…"

"Geez, how gloomy," finally came the response. The princess shook her head to cover her relief over the smug character coming back. "Please keep the waterworks at bay too," the girl in blue continued and the princess let slide the fact she had said the same thing to her just a minute ago. "If it makes you feel better I'll just add it to the bunch of trouble I've been causing since legacy year," she stated as if she was doing the princess a favor, shrugging as she crossed her legs.

"Yeah, yeah, more for your 'evilest' Dark Fairy curriculum." Briar said dismissively adding the quotation marks with her fingers. Then she just turned around and stretched herself as she made her way to her wardrobe, where she stood… wondering the point in dressing up if she was confined to her room for the rest of the day.

"So… what's your plan for today, Bri?" Faybelle said eyeing the princess as she took her mirrorphone out. The girl, still in her pj's, couldn't help her groan as she let her face fall to her right hand, whose elbow rested at her left in her waist. "I figured you would be thorn to the apple core if you were missing school by Baba Yaga's orders no less, but…" the fairy took her eyes from her screen raising a brow. "You look alright, besides all the other obvious wrongs you naturally have…" she continued with a little devil's grin. Briar turned her head to glare from over her shoulder before looking back to her clothes. "They know that if you are not active you'll end up sleeping most of the time, right?"

"That's the thing," Briar said turning as she gave up on her options, "I seem to be falling asleep even when I'm, I would say, pretty active lately…" She continued waiting for a confirmation look that showed Faybelle knew what she was talking about, "that's what's gotten Baba Yaga all the more worried."

"Well, curses…" Faybelle responded as she looked back to her apps. "What did the old crone say?"

"She's got no idea what may be affecting my 'sleeping lapses'."

"But you know what's up…?" There was a moment of silence before Briar charged enough courage to answer that… with another question.

"You think… it may be time?" The princess looked at the fairy with a mix of hope and despair, the sight enough to make anyone break into a full routine of 'It will be alright's; but not Faybelle. No, the blue girl knew better as she put away her device to look directly as she answered.

"You know I don't know." Briar hugged herself looking down, the uncertainty of _that_ certainty shaking her as it always did, but Faybelle didn't stop. See, just as Briar knew how to handle her, she knew how to handle the princess; and in a scolding manner she continued stating the facts: "And even if I knew, I could not tell you. Only the _Dark_ _Fairy_ knows, and only _She_ has word over the matter."

"Right…" Briar let out, back to normal. The few ultimate truths giving her, somehow, were to stand again as she had done forever after. Faybelle, however, was not letting the conversation die gloomy and more than anything she knew she had to take the princess out of this train of thought. What with all the solitary confinement she had a lot of dangerous time to think over what had her in solitary confinement no less.

"So…" the dark fairy trailed knowing exactly with _who_ to distract her mind. "I could ask what has gotten you so worried about _the time_ …" Briar looked up cautiously, meeting with a teasing smirk. "But, I'm pretty sure I can figure out why…"

"Mhmm, care to share, girl; 'cuz I don't know whatever after you are talking about." The princess replied, taking a strong stance with her arms crossed almost by reflex.

"Hmmm… well, it has to do with your recent preference for _red."_

Briar couldn't help but slightly turn said color, remembering the fuss she was making before she got interrupted by this… evil being. But before the fairy could rejoice in having her cornered, she fought back.

"You are talking about Cerise." The princess stated (though it sounded as a question) feigning ignorance. Receiving a small smiling nod she decided to add "wonder if I should do something about Blondie's mirrorcast if _this_ (a friendship) is causing so much commotion."

"Pfft-" Faybelle didn't lose impulse. "Please, Bri. _This_ (definitely no friendship) has more to do with your pink cheeks and someone's puppy eyes than with a nosy blonde," She pointed with her finger all over the other girl as she laughed softly.

"Belle, this deal with Cerise is…" the pink girl started, the tingling sensation at her fingertips and her warm palm making her stumble on her thoughts… "I know he have become close but-"

"Close?!" The dark fairy laughed harder and harder, "That's an understatement!" She kept on laughing, the raised brow on the princess just fueling her humor. "Let me put it this way, Darling and Rosabella are close, Raven and Maddie are close, I am close with Duchess but you two... You two are fake-king melted."

"Language, Faybelle." Briar rolled her eyes seeing as there was nothing to do that could bring the cackles down. However, turning her back to her companion, Briar's brainwork got ignited. Looking down at her hands again she wondered ' _we are close, we are friends…'_ the mere thought of the red cape made her heart clench painfully, ' _…aren't we?_ '

"Well…" the fairy's voice took the attention of the princess again. Faybelle stood from the desk and walked towards the nearby window leaning back on the frame. "I will give her credit for her heroic acts, that's more convincing than just picnics and tours of the Dark forest."

"Wha- How do you know about that?" Briar stomped over to the other side of the bed to face the blue girl.

"P-please, Bri. Bodyguard or not, it's my sworn duty to know, you know?" Faybelle said with a mocking smile at the princess puffy cheeks. "Not like you were being discreet, anyways…"

"Fay-"

"But honestly though," the dark fairy interrupted once again, "I hope you are giving your puppy a spell of a reward, being your knight in shining armor and all."

"Cerise is not a knight, and yeah I-"

"Well, she sure acts like one, would you look at that." Faybelle interrupted for the last time (I hope) while looking out the window. Briar hurried like never in her life to the window, her eyes following the sight of her frienemy, her heart coming up to her throat to find… nothing. No one was standing there, no one important anyway. A huge disappointment took the princess stomach only for it to flip when her eyes widened in understanding. Briar looked back to find the dark fairy looking at her arm crossed with a mocking expression. She had been set.

"You…" the pink girl managed to growl while turning crimson.

"See, enough with the negation…" Faybelle said, her tone kind, more than anyone could imagine her using. She placed a hand atop of the princess shoulder before adding, "You like the girl."

"I- I-" Looking up at Faybelle's pale eyes the dark grey of Cerise's came up, the image and wording of her feelings giving her a cue to stop stuttering, making her sure of her next statement. "I like Cerise."

MY FAIRY GODMOTHER! Did you hear that, Dear?!

I did, I did! Stop! I can't breathe!

Mom! Calm down, you are hurting Dad- _giggle._

"Yeah, yeah, big deal, Bri." Faybelle said dismissively as she took her mirrorphone out, taking her time to brag about having the upperhand of a certain bet with a certain swan. She got surprised by a tug of her arm.

"Oh, my fairy godmother! Faybelle, I like Cerise!" The princess freaked out, her mauve eyes rushing from one eye to the other of said fairy. "She's coming again today." She said taking hold of her friend's face, squeezing a little too much for the blue girl's liking. "What am I gonna do?" She followed to release Faybelle's face to take hold of her own.

The dark fairy rubbed her hand on her jaw, ceasing the pain the other girl had inflicted as she saw the princess go around the room talking to herself.

"No way… what is it… shoes may… but then… what about…" The dark fairy heard in time with a series of face expressions and hand movements that made her finally roll her eyes, pocket her phone again and wait. When Briar came near her again, she stopped her and slapped her.

Ouch…

"Hey!" The princess came back rubbing her cheek.

"Hold your dragons, enchanted pants. There is nothing to do but to calm down."

"Bu-"

"Ep-ep ep! Silence," Faybelle said pointing to her hand, the one with she had just slapped the princess. Briar pulled her lips into a line. "I see no reason to do anything because of this crash-"

"Crush."

"Ah, yeah yeah, whatever after. Look, this may be the first time you admit it to anyone but, it's not like anything has to change or you gotta put the moves on unless…" Faybelle stated like if it was weather talk but then stopped to pull a big Cheshire worthy grin.

"Unless… what?" Briar asked in fear at what that smile meant, preparing herself while crossing her arms.

"Unless you are actually lusting over the girl." Faybelle went to sit over the bed, an amused smirk tattooed to her face as she enjoyed the spectacle that was Briar blushing all over, voice lost, mind rushing behind her eyes. "I wouldn't blame you; we are all teenagers in a hormone sea after all."

Is this going to take a… _risky_ turn, Brooke? I don't know if your father will be able to handle it if it does.

Oh! Don't worry Dad, you don't need to cover your ears or anything, this is just Faybelle twisting Briar a little for her own amusement.

Briar looked up to her villain; she made it look so easy, looking all calm and composed while talking about these… matters. But look at her, she was known for taking risks and loving the rush and yet, her royal upbringing really showed up at times like this.

"Besides," the dark fairy said while looking at her fingernails, "the girl is an athlete, she's probably all ripped below those cloth-" Faybelle was made to stop, the princess kneeling down before her, eyes closed shut, covering the fairy's mouth with both hands. To say she looked like a tomato would be rude… but accurate. The blue girl felt the sweaty palm of her friend and felt a little touched. She let out a sigh and rolled her eyes before taking the hands off her mouth letting out a soft smile. "Funny right?" She said earning the open sight of the princess, "how something as pure as love can't be achieved without something as sinful as lust."

"Lov-"

"Yes, Bri. Because love without lust is only friendship." Briar looked down, in thought. What Faybelle was saying made sense; at least to her. So what was it? Did she like Cerise only as a friend? Or did she…? "Tell you what." Faybelle said petting the spot beside her, Briar following to sit there looking at her lap. "You don't have to decide what's your deal with puppy eyes just yet. There is no need to rush." Briar let a soft chuckle help her relax.

"I guess you are right."

"Aren't I?" Faybelle placed her upper arm over her frienemy's shoulder "Baby dragon steps, ok? It may help if you figured what red thinks of you first." Briar smiled discreetly still looking down before pulling back and leering at the fairy. "that's better." Faybelle whispered, and with that stood up. Stretching and flipping her wings a little she looked back. "I'm having fun but I guess it is time for me to go. My business here is over." She said as she raised herself from the floor.

"Thanks for visiting, Belle."

"Good to see you are doing fine, Bri. Now," she said as she mover near the window, "I'll leave you so you can continue your squealing, or I dunno… maybe you will consider more private _actions_."

"Faybelle!" The princess painted red threw a pillow across the room in the fairy's direction.

"You failed!" the attacked shouted as she evaded and flew away.

* * *

Briar's side of the day seemed pretty frantic, but what we all didn't know is that someone else had been having an interesting day following that door closing this morning. And that was no other than Kitty Cheshire.

I thought we were about to see Cerise's day, sweetie.

Well, stories can be deceiving, Love.

 _Giggle-_ Well, Kitty had been having really boring days, what with everything so calm and settled around the world of Ever After. Sure she had time to catnap and spend with her friends but, things were getting way too tranquil around and that made her fur rise as a lover of chaos that she was. Today she had opted for leaving early to school; to see if she could set a couple of pranks before everyone got to class. But as she stepped out of her dorm room she noticed someone leaving Ashlynn and Briar's that clearly wasn't any of the two. A red caped girl stood in the doorframe for a little. ' _Cerise?'_ She thought before hurriedly disappearing to transport behind her closed door, back to her room as the red girl rushed through the hallway probably to her own room. Kitty half opened the door slowly to peer from the safety of the crack; her feline vision capturing the red in the caped girl's cheeks that could not be blamed on the color of her clothes. "Interesting…" she said quietly as she stepped out again, a dangerous grin falling on her face.

Kitty had thrown everything aside to keep an eye on the red girl the whole day, but nothing had come out of the ordinary. She had changed to her usual attire, gone to class, had lunch on her break and said hi to a couple of friends. The only thing that seemed out of the norm was that she went to some of the royal classes to deliver thronework, presumably of Briar's considering what had by now taken over the school as the most known event Ever After (as many others had taken before). As a reminder of that, after Cerise was released from observation three days prior, every fairytale in school had made their mission to go and congratulate the red girl in some way or another at least once a day. Any other day the attention she was receiving would have belonged to Apple White or Daring Charming, once upon a time it did to Raven Queen but now all of them had left their important roles behind and it seemed the school was eager to have a new icon. Cerise didn't seem as happy as everyone else.

After school, Kitty followed the red girl as she sneaked in the shadows, away from the school halls and went to an isolated area behind school, namely around where the lavender girl first found about Cerise's secret.

"What is she doing?" Kitty asked herself as she appeared over one of her favorite branches and as if she had been heard the red girl turned to look at her right up.

"What do you want Kitty?" She almost growled. The Cheshire rapidly disappearing leaving only her smile. "I know you've been following me all day. Don't run away now." Kitty's smile fell making her reappear where she was. She looked down in discontent at the other girl. So much for being under cover.

"Nothing much, Cerise. I was just bored." The girl at the branch said looking at her nails.

"And decided to follow me why…?" the girl below asked as she crossed her arms, wary to every movement of the cat.

"Dunno… I got curious today when I saw you going out of Briar's." Kitty continued looking away from her nails and raising an eyebrow along with her smile return. Cerise looked down for a second but not letting the poor statement affect her she looked back up.

"Big bad secret, I went to pick her thronework. We had breakfast." She said dismissively. However, the lavender girl still looked at her with the same knowing eyes, making the red one wonder if she should have let the smile go when she had the opportunity.

"Hmmm, and was the thronework part that caused the blush, or was it the breakfast?" Cerise's stomach dropped, was this girl always around when her secrets were out in the open?

"Why do you care?" The red girl promptly responded, berating herself for not having better comebacks at this point.

"Oh I'm just wonder-ing if I should start wearing earplugs when you two are alone." That was it, Cerise was losing her patience.

"Kitty…" She growled, her eyes dangerously near to turning gold. Her sight focused on how to get faster up that branch and… force that grin out of her legacy.

"What? Everyone has an idea of what's going on, not just meow," Kitty stated faking innocence, a façade rapidly replaced by her teasing character. The caped girl rolled her eyes _'why won't every fairytale in school get a hobby and let Cupid do her thing?'_ Cerise let her frustration go with a sigh. So everyone she had met over the days that went to give her a pat on her back were also _rooting_ for her? The red girl cringed at her impure thoughts earlier that same day in the princess room.

"Nothing's going on… go and tell everyone," She said crestfallen. Cerise pulled her hood forward, the very reminder of who she was and her anchor in every situation; a reminder that recently just shouted at her she was not suitable for a certain beauty. _'But honestly Cupid, I wish you would come to my aid.'_

"Aww, don't worry. Sad puppy eyes tell me you aren't lying. But…" The purred words took the red girl by surprise.

"But what?" She urged, wanting nothing but for the matter to die as fast as possible.

"They tell you _wish_ you were lying." Cerise's eyes opened wide, was the Cheshire reading her mind? Or was she just playing with the situation?

Brooke, Dear, she is looking up.

Curses, I forgot she could hear us too…

Wait! So she has been listening to us this entire time? Not fairest Kitty! You can't go and use the narration information at will, be nice to Cerise at least, could you? Who do you think you are showing that tongue?!

"See, it crushes my heart when I see you so unsure." Don't just go on with the story! Wait… yes… you do that! Don't interfere with the story anymore!

"Pff- yeah sure, you love it when there is uncertainty." Cerise said not believing a word the Cheshire uttered.

"Well, can't hate a girl for liking what she likes." At least Kitty was being honest.

Cerise was for lack of a better word, tired. She had been getting way too much attention for her liking these days and what's more, she was still dealing with her shame over pride in the matter of 'saving' the falling princess. Having people you've never had a proper name exchange with congratulating you all over something you don't want to think about can be exhausting. Even her sunny morning start couldn't fight all this that kept her on edge. All the feelings that were keeping her on edge.

"You know I have enough problems for you to just jump in too," she said, deciding the girl in twin tails was just messing with her like always. "Just leave me alone, will you?" she added in her frustration. "I'd rather be with anyone but you."

That last phrase was sent without real malice behind; but even _if_ Kitty knew that, she still felt a pang hit her. "Cerise, I'm here to help," she replied, her smile nowhere in sight, the cat ears of her hat dropping. Unable to transport she jumped from the branch; "Really," she let with a small voice.

"Help me?" Cerise emphasized with her head.

Kitty looked unsure her sight going up to meet the red girl's and back to her fidgety hands, "I wondered if you needed the guidance of another half animal kin."

"Why?" The questions kept falling from the caped girl. The fact that Kitty knew about her animal traits was no news but for her to bring them up, after what happened last time she wanted to spill the magic beans, yeah; those were news.

Kitty's hat ears perked up at the sound of voices not so far from where they were, her pupils getting thin. She looked back at Cerise and signaled to the forest with her thumb inviting her to come along: "Come we have some stuff to talk about."

Once they were far enough into the 'wild'; a trip that was spent in silence (outside anyways, because in her mind Cerise discussed with herself why she had followed Kitty in the first place); the lavender girl asked nonchalantly while looking up to the sky through the trees: "Be honest, do you like Briar?"

The red girl's sigh could be heard miles away (not really, but I'm adding some hyperbole). "Why would I tell you?"

"So you do." Kitty hummed to herself still looking up to some birds and little animals. A deep growl made her look back in panic, "Meow, wait! You need to start putting our differences aside and think of our similarities." The twin tailed girl blurted holding her hands up defensively, she was conscious of how little patience she had earned from her companion. She should think more carefully on how to spend it, really… just a recommendation.

Cerise brought up her right hand to massage her temples with her thumb and middle finger, and then she trailed the frame of her face with them before asking, lost: "What does that have to do with what I feel for Briar?" Cerise had to give the feline girl some credit; all this nonsense was refreshing and was starting to make her feelings look clearer.

"That's why I'm worried." Kitty rolled her eyes before dropping them to her feet. "If you are about to commit to someone in Briar's circumstances then you have to be sure of what you are feeling," she continued while kicking some leaves with her left foot. Cerise noticed she seemed a little… anxious. "You have to understand we halfies share a lot of traits of the animals we represent."

Still lost, but opting to stop it with the questions the red girl stated: "I know that."

Kitty closed her eyes and shook her head in disagreement. "Yeah, well, you know our instincts take over us really often in stuff like running or napping," she elaborated weighting the actions in her hands. Then she brought her hands closer for each finger to touch their twin and looking away she continued. "But they also come up when we are… well, when we are in heat."

Cerise's eyes went wide and her pupils thin, a hot feeling announcing itself from her neck. And while taking one step back she uttered "Wh-"

"Meow! I thought receiving _the_ _talk_ was embarrassing but giving it is worse!" Kitty interjected bringing her face to her hands and squatting to further hide herself in a ball.

"The talk?" And the red girl was back with her questions.

Kitty left her shield and slowly stood up while talking, still looking to the floor: "Yeah, well, all parents tell you about the stork… but only animal parents need to talk about mating instincts."

"M- m-mating?!"

Finally standing, Kitty rolled her eyes and looked to the other girl annoyed. "See, I knew no one had told you yet, maybe your dad still thinks you are a little too young to know," she finished while crossing her arms.

"How do you know about my dad?" Cerise embarrassment was quickly replaced with anger, the red being replaced by a furrowed brow.

Kitty pushed the girl's forehead with her index finger.

"Hey!"

"We all know who your mom is, _genius_. The only way for you to get your ears is your dad," Kitty said as she went back to her arm crossed posture having the 'duh' expression all over her face.

"Oh…" Cerise understood a little embarrassed, her lips a thin line and her eyes looking away. Berating herself internally for not considering that option took a second and then she focused again on the main subject of the conversation. "So… what you are trying to say with all this is…"

"That maybe your feelings are just fruit of your… frustration," the Cheshire answered while taking a seat over a long log in the floor. "Maybe they are just lust," she finished looking at the other girl's eyes.

Cerise considered everything in her mind; all her thoughts, including those from this morning, coming back to torment her. Sure she felt happy just spending time with the princess, as _friends_ ; but there was no denying in a more active side of her imagination leading her to dangerous places more often than not. She had scared herself more than once by now. And if it helps the reference… she has scared Dad a lot too. All of this was possible but still she looked down measuring the sleek blue of Kitty's eyes, in search of a sign of her leg being pulled. And finding none she went out looking for a solution to her doubts. "And how am I supposed to know?"

"That's why I'm here to help," Kitty said eagerly patting the spot to her left for Cerise to sit down too. Remember that about the red girl seeing her feelings clearer… yeah that was out the window by now.

"Has it happened to you before?" Cerise asked while sitting down.

"Meow, you stopped hesitating fast," Kitty noted at the lack of hesitance in the red girl's tone.

Cerise hurriedly became conscious of the topic again and went to scratch the back of her neck while looking away. "Well, you are telling me this is normal, so… why feel embarrassed about it?"

"Yeah." Kitty nodded in thought.

"So it has happened to you," the caped girl misinterpreted the affirmation.

Kitty got several layers of red and jumped on her seat while she hissed. "Wha- No!"

"Oh sorry, I thought… nevermind," Cerise wondered when was the last time she felt so embarrassed. Oh! That's right… this morning.

Cerise cleared her throat and looked away and back to the feline girl several times. "So, how do I know what I'm feeling isn't just…" She coughed a little "…isn't just lust."

Kitty put herself back together as a feeling of superiority filled her and made her feel like sitting tall. Right now she was in a position of respect, since she was the more knowledgeable one and she kind of liked it. Her smile started to come back little by little. "Well… if you were to… satisfy the need, you could see it was just a fling."

"Satisfy the need…" Cerise looked down and hunched, a million of thoughts I will not mention in front of my Dad painting her redder.

Oblivious to the red girl's state, Kitty held her chin in thought and rapidly snapped her fingers, looking back excited. "Oh! I know, what about a kiss?"

"K- k- kiss?!" Cerise train of thought crashed loudly inside of her as the fresh image of full lips made it up front in her mind. Wait, wasn't she running away from this same idea just a chapter ago? "Don't be… I can't just go and kiss Briar!" Cerise hid herself further in her hood.

Kitty rolled her eyes. "It doesn't _have_ to be Briar, it can be anyone." The lavender paused for a moment, looking away and then back to the red bundle "Even me."

Cerise face dropped and lost its colors, she quickly pulled back her hood to reveal her face looking at the other girl "Wha-"

"Oh don't look at me like that, you're the one who wants to know if you are really in love," Kitty said in defense, then her smile took hold of her features as a teasing look was directed at the still hiding girl. "Besides, you are such a child, it's only a kiss."

"I'm not a child!" Cerise roared finally emerging from her insecure state.

"You say that but you can't even do a little kiss," Kitty kept teasing pointing at the red girl's chest; her finger making contact.

Cerise wasn't having this girl mock her, not when she was already looking as a fool for not knowing all about this instincts stuff; so she sat even taller and imitated the lavender girl's actions. "I can do a kiss, I can do it right here and now!"

"Oh! You sure?" Kitty said facing the red girl, closing their distance, her smile not faltering even a bit.

"Yeah," Cerise responded to the challenge also leering from a closer distance to Kitty's face.

"Well, ok. Go ahead." The Cheshire said closing her eyes and hiding her teeth. Her lips still curved upwards as she waited.

"Y-yeah." Cerise stomach did a flip as her competitive side nearly abandoned her letting what was going on sink in. She suddenly noticed Kitty's face and body proximity; her soft breathing brushing her lightly as did the breeze of the reserved spot. Her hearing focused on the few close sounds as did on the rest of the nature that surrounded them. The private moment submerged her while she looked down to maroon tinted lips, inviting her to just close the distance.

She could do a kiss. Cerise really believed she could. It was just a kiss, wasn't it? If she was in the need of a kiss the obvious cure was… to kiss someone. Kitty was a far down the line of options, what with them both not really agreeing much. But closely, and being honest, Kitty Cheshire was nothing but gorgeous. Her white skin resembled soft porcelain which played with her bright eyes to make her look as a doll. Her petite body called to be perfect for cuddling and not to mention its curves were just as well placed as they were in the waves of her hair. Even her teasing expression and conceited attitude were… Cerise admitted, they were… kinda hot. The muddle of thoughts instantly ceased with that last one, and letting her body move on its own Cerise held Kitty by the shoulders and closed her eyes, slowly letting it… happen.

Briar's image jumped to Cerise's mind just before their lips made contact.

"I can't!" The red girl said as she jerked back pushing Kitty with the same hands that were just holding her still. Keeping the lavender girl at arm length with her right hand she looked down to her left. Her heartbeat leaving her deaf while she felt her palm tingling. Caramel and pink tresses danced in front of her mind's eye; the subtle rose scent permeated in her dreams was breathed through her skin making her shiver; Sun caressed silk contrasted breathlessly with pearl white between juicy cherry lips; and finally she heard the sweet melody her name could be while drowning in a tender sea of mauve. Her hood for the first time felt stuffy. The heat made her eyes swift but she kept her control. This wasn't right. She did long for physical intimacy, that she was sure of now. But she didn't just want any body. She wanted Briar's.

Kitty looked wide eyed as she panted a little from the surprise, scanning the scene in front of her… before bursting into laughs: "AHAHAHAHA, meow, you should see yourself right now! This is purrrfect! Priceless!" She said between giggles as she brushed Cerise hand off her shoulder and bended over to contain herself.

Cerise was brought back with a blink, her gray sight lifting to furrow her brow at the laughing feline "Hey!"

Taking a tear off the corner of her eye, Kitty reincorporated and sighed, a couple of giggles still present during her speech, "Please, don't take it so seriously! You can't do it, why?" she finished by crossing her arms.

"I just…" Cerise looked down, her eyes lost.

"Was it because of Briar?" Cerise brought her sight up again. "Well, then that means you may really be in love with her."

"Really?" The red girl said in relief.

"Yeah. I told you if it was just lust it didn't matter who it was," Kitty shrugged before spotting the growing smile that the red girl tried to hide. Then she raised her fist and punched the love stuck in her upper arm. "Congrats."

Cerise let her smile be seen, and even released a soft giggle, bright eyes as she stated loud and clear: "I like Briar."

WOOOOOOH! And that's two out of two!

You seem excited, Mom- _giggle_

"I should reconsider those earplugs I mentioned before," Kitty stated annoyed while covering her right ear, earning a glare from beside her, the red girl taking the statement as a tease to herself. Fearing for her life again Kitty reinstalled her raised hands stance while shouting "I'm kitting!" Cerise just rolled her eyes. Her wide smile never leaving her face.

"Phew…" The red girl threw herself back on her palms and relaxed while looking up, her feelings were clear for once. But… it hit her again when she looked from the sky to her hood just above her face. There was still a lot that remained unresolved. She considered today's a victory but she knew her worries would wash over again once the feeling ceased. "I like Briar," she repeated under her breath, a sour tint of apprehension noticeable this time.

Kitty stood up, making her presence loud again. "Hey, me helping you by no matter makes us friends or anything so…" she said as she walked back dusting some invisible dirt from her skirt.

"I'll have it in mind," Cerise replied addressing her a conceited smirk that promptly turned into a soft smile. "Thanks, Kitty."

Kitty was taken by surprise and jumped along the perk of her hat's cat ears, the statement tinting a little pink over her cheeks. "Yeah, yeah, the conversation is over." She said turning her back to the red girl. "Go, I'll die before someone sees me hanging around with you." She said peering over her shoulder from the corner of her eyes, her smile in her tone.

"See you around!" Cerise interjected while standing up, earning one last roll of blue eyes before only a smile remained of the lavender girl; and then it vanished.

* * *

Dad, I'm surprised you managed that last segment so well! Dad?

Oh, my.

When did he leave?

I'm not sure, sweetie, I was too engrossed to notice- _chuckle_

Well, we can update him on this last part when he comes back.

Yeah, he needs to know that Cerise finally-

"What has a cat to do for you to be quiet?" Oh, Kitty! Sorry… we didn't notice you. "You wouldn't be the first."

Kitty walked the remaining of the hallway to her dorm room, she had transported herself to the building but something or other had stopped her from getting all the way to her room. As she passed next to one of her friends doors, she found her reason. She knocked.

"Yes?" Came a soft voice from the other side and the feline girl transported herself inside. Sky blue eyes fell on her form without surprise.

"Oh! Kitty, you are early. I thought we were meeting at the Tea Shoppe in an hour." Lizzie Hearts said from her favorite resting sofa sounding apologetic while lowering her book. See, she was still wearing her house clothes having draping them over after an afternoon shower. Not even had she painted her red heart over her eye.

"Is everything ok?" Lizzie asked after a moment without answer, further scanning her friend before her with her head low. The girl to be queen received a sob as an answer. "Kitty…" She let softly after seeing heavy drops fall from pale cheeks into the carpet. Hands were taking fists of the black and purple clothes that made the Cheshire skirt; and soon enough the girl's shoulders started shuddering erratically.

"Dogs are stupid!" Kitty said among gasps and sobs, furiously bringing a hand to rub her eyes.

Lizzie's heart (as did ours) broke in two at the sight, and instead of asking anything she sat up and extended her hands to the crying girl, her book lying on the table beside her. "Come here," she almost whispered. Kitty slowly walked towards the princess of hearts taking her hands for them to guide her nearer and nearer. When being close enough, the lavender girl fell to her knees and cried inconsolably over Lizzie's lap.

Whole minutes passed and the girls stayed like that, until the caresses of the princess started soothing the girl, and her cries calmed down. Lizzie softly scratched Kitty's back until her sobs completely died and when they did she pulled the girls head up slowly by her chin. "I'll call everyone and tell them something came up. You can stay as long as you need." Kitty nodded with an exhausted expression and after sniffing looking into her friends eyes, Lizzie pulled her up a little more to kiss a new trail of tears off her cheek. Kitty leaned on the following soft kisses painted on her cheeks, forehead and nose as Lizzie guided her up, on top of her to rest on the sofa.

Kitty fell over Lizzie's chest and curled onto it, snuggling as much as she could on the princess body. She felt the other girl's arms around her as she felt her lids heavy. Lizzie started to caress lavender hair, before untying the girl's pig tails. A heavy and trembling sigh announced another flush of tears making their way to pale blue eyes; and Lizzie pulled the petite body closer before she started singing:

"Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur~" The melody filled the room harmoniously and even though pretty much of the song's lighter tone was switched for a rather melancholic one at this moment, its remaining silliness earned a chuckle from the crying girl. Lizzie smiled softly before she felt tears prickling at her own eyes. She shook them and continued singing as she felt the body above her relaxing.

"Happy kitty, sleepy kitty, purr, purr, purr~"

* * *

Cerise entered her room, wondering what she ought to do when visiting Briar that evening; because being honest, acting normal was probably out of her possibilities.

"Oh, you are back!" She was greeted by Cedar who seating on her bed looked up from her mirrorphone. "Blondie just called me asking if I could help her with a special feature today, but I wasn't sure if today was CoB night so I told her I would confirm," she explained changing her expression for every part as she did.

Cerise chuckled a little at her honest friend. "Cedar, CoB nights aren't that important," she said as she approached the wooden girl.

"They are for you," was the response that took the red girl by surprise. Cerise smiled softly at the truth that was spoken before her… ' _Enough for Cedar to notice, huh?_ '

"They sure are," the caped girl responded unconsciously while pulling a pink handkerchief out of her pocket; feeling its softness with her thumb, she then refocused to continue. "Thanks for considering me but no, Cedar, today there is no CoB planned, I'll just go check on Briar in a bit."

"Great! I'll tell Blondie!" The wooden girl stood up eagerly from her bed and rushed to the door, not before passing Cerise and the red girl asking her:

"Cedar, can you keep a secret?" She said thinking about what she had just experienced back in the forest.

Cedar looked back and with a huge smile on her face she answered without hesitation. "No."

Cerise smile went as wide as her roommate's before she let herself relax enough to laugh "Pfft-" she took a small tear with her right knuckle while looking up. The red girl let out a big sigh before patting her friend goodbye and telling her as she was leaving: "Thanks, Cedar."

* * *

 **Guess who had time over break to finish this chapter -v-**

 **Thank you very much for your patience and I hope you like this chapter. I'll confess that before this story came out I... used to ship Cerise x Kitty but once this idea rooted in my mind I needed to give up on it. A lot of people can have multiple ships involving the same characters but not me... I obsess over one or the other so I did in pro of this story. Luckyly my heartbreak was short lived (as will be Kitty's) since I discovered the wonders (see the pun?) of KitZie -v- All in all, I'm happy to be able to address the end of that in this manner. Funny, since now Kitty and Cerise are one of my BROTPs xD**

 **Speaking of which, I'll give a cookie to anyone that has spotted all my OTPs and BROTPs up til now C:**

 **There is a lot of apparent answers coming our way but... also a lot of blank spaces as did with this chapter.**

 **Thank you very much for reading and again for your patience C:**

 **Charm you later!**


	8. Ch 07- Each to your corners

Oh! Ever After, will you ever stay as peaceful as you seem right-

"YOU DID WHAT?!" …now …and here we go.

The question resounded through the hall of the 3rd floor of the girl's charmitorioum, the source located in no other than Ashlynn and Briar's room. Inside, standing each in opposite sides of the pink princess bed, were Cerise and Briar herself; the first girl looking rather small even in her taller stand and the later looking at her disbelieving with an expression that anyone could mistake for anger.

But, what happened before that? What's going on?

That, Mom, is a hexcelent question. See, before Briar lungs decided to challenge those of the Evil Queen, the two girls discussed the behavior of the last few days of a certain enchanted prince. A behavior that, as just confessed by the girl in red, is the result of a conversation taken after bookball practice the day before the conduct started. Something said during that time had ignited the insistence of the freckled boy, and Briar was losing her temper. Something said by Cerise no less had inspired hope in Hopper's fragile heart and Briar was not happy about it. Briar was not happy about it at all.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think-"

"You clearly didn't."

Cerise took a sharp breath but endured the harsh words. "I didn't think what I said would turn into this," Cerise looked to the floor, unable to understand the big deal about the situation but knowing better than to make less of it.

"Hopper was finally ceasing his… attempts at wooing me. But suddenly we are back to square one." Briar threw her hands in the air and sat down over the edge of her bed, her frustration also manifesting as a groan while she rubbed her temples.

Cerise stepped in, her initial intention being to get on the bed and soothe the princess, but oddly enough, she opted for just sitting on the edge too, mirroring the other girl's posture. "I really… I really wasn't thinking," She let under her breath as she remembered the conversation.

* * *

 _Practice had finished good twenty minutes by then but, ever since Cerise had joined the team and Ever After actually started getting a name in the bookball season, the team was in the habit of spending the next hour bonding. Funny how some small and funny chat did wonders in lifting the team's morale. More than just the school spirit, the members found it refreshing to actually find belonging with this other smelly people, and it actually showed during practice and as a result on the actual game._

 _Cerise's usual bunch was formed by Daring (obviously), Dexter, and Tiny, with some additions here and there, though they were not exclusive and got along with other usual groups and divided among them often enough. This time Hopper Croakington the II had come into the mix, like so many other times before, and the conversation would had gone as usual if only inside Cerise's head her brain had not been torturing her every time the boy spoke. The red girl's feelings towards Briar had been sorted out barely four days before then and the short lapses between self doubt rounds weren't helping her towards any course of action. The more she thought about it, the more she wanted not to do so. But here she was, listening to the desperate prince talk about the upcoming welcoming party for the Neverlanders and of course about Briar._

 _The only thing Cerise felt grateful at that moment was the point of comparison between a truly helpless person and herself when it came to self doubt (or at least she wanted to believe that). It was almost entertaining to watch Hopper completely look down on himself for a minute and then completely idolize Briar the next;_ _ **almost,**_ _since the later came with mixed feelings. Yes, Cerise could completely agree with the freckled prince that the pink princess ought to be a present to mortals from God or a temptation sent by the devil, but when his words fell from the poetic elements and became as crude and objectifying as the latest pop song in the rankings, she had to swallow hard her kill intent and tighten her jaw; otherwise she may had ripped the enchanted boy's face. She spared the boy's integrity in virtue of her own… inappropriate thoughts; however, it irked her just how freely the words came from his mouth. Thinking was one thing… but uttering the stuff? There had to be a limit. Her senses told her to act but still there was that berating voice telling her she was just justifying herself and being kinda hypocritical when it came to other people. Double standard?_

 _In about the forth cycle of Hopper's speech pattern, Cerise turned to see her peers in an attempt to keep her cool. She found them completely out of it, used to the scene in front of them and unfazed by the phrasing of their pal. Instead of finding it distracting, the red caped girl got even more annoyed, her teeth grinding and her eyes squinting ever so slightly; '_ tch, of course they're ok with all this. Not like they'll get mad or anything. They don't care. Daring would have turned again without magic if he were talking 'bout Rosabella… or his sister.' _She turned her head to check the people left in the field, '_ Hunter would have heard Ashlynn's name from miles and pierced his head with an arrow.' _Cerise looked to the prince again, the sounds from the exterior getting further and further away._ 'Raven and Apple are feared and respected enough to not be the talk of the boys… and anyone would step in to defend them if it were the case.' _She narrowed her eyes a bit more._ 'But no one will bat an eye for Briar,' _she sunk in the silence with an uncomfortable turn on her stomach fueling her frown deeper. She read the name falling from Hopper's lips once more, the sound failing to reach her and her eyes turning gold. '_ **My** Briar'

" _-right, Cerise?" Dexter's voice came along his hand on the red girl's shoulder, bringing her back to the present and helping her get back to her senses. The hooded girl blinked a couple of times for her eyes to return gray and looked up to see blue behind glasses. 'Holy paper sheet! Where did_ _ **that**_ _come from?' Her mind stepped back from its wild state and its possessive turn._

" _I'm sorry, what?" Cerise replied while still holding the prince's sight, finding some weird level of awareness in it; an awareness that made her reconsider the possibility that the touch and call had come from more than vain interjection in their chat._

 _Dexter sighed with relief and smiled while sliding his hand off Cerise's shoulder. "When a girl rejects you so openly, it's better to leave her alone, right? As a girl, Cerise, would you say it's a clear sign she is just not interested?"_

 _Cerise took her friend's relief as a confirmation, he knew something was up. She silently nodded as thanks; for whatever reason he had done it, he had helped her; or, helped Hopper… but we may never know._

" _You know, my man, I do think perseverance is a virtue; and it is true that it had helped me woo damsels in the past. But maybe it is time to entirely give up." Daring said when Cerise's answer took too long to come._

" _I- I don't know anymore, guys. I admit, I probably overwhelmed Briar with all my tries… I was actually trying to keep my distance this time." Hopper shrugged, "You know, ol' try pushing stuff."_

" _And, has it worked?" Asked Dex._

 _The freckled prince looked up and smiled sheepishly while shrugging and answering, "well… no."_

 _Cerise took upon it to finally speak, kinda happy with where the conversation was going… and feeling terrible for enjoying her friend's misery. "You know, Hopper," her tone was light, though her voice came a little raspier than usual, "Briar really enjoys your company as a friend. She has told me her favorite times are when she hangs out with her BFFAs; including you." The caped girl smiled softly, for what she said kinda applied to her too, though she felt a pang at her heart that made the corner of her lips twitch._

 _Hopper looked at Cerise in the eye, a similar soft placed sting in his expression. He looked at his hands over his crossed legs, and felt his blood rush while he admitted: "I kinda wish it had been me who saved Briar, you know, in the beanstalk."_

 _The tension rose, and all eyes fell on Cerise. The guys one by one made to speak with no success, making an effort to come with something appropriate, clever, funny. But they failed and waited hopelessly for the seconds to run too long; all of them except Tiny. Casually the giant petted softly the hooded head of the girl in the group with his index finger and stood up. "Well, guys, I gotta go. It's kinda late and it'll be bad if they close the big doors at the dorms before I'm there." He said interfering with the atmosphere obliviously… or not._

" _Bye, Tiny!" They all said in a chorus, half a second before big feet took their way. Cerise looked at the huge back of her friend and thanked silently for the second time in that hour. Then she looked back to the matter at hand, and swallowed bitter, for her words exposed her true feelings and showing herself vulnerable was not something she was used to._

" _I kinda wish you had too."_

 _Hopper flinched at the answer, his brow frowning ever so slightly, a sudden anger controlled and directed announcing itself. "If it had been me, I would have better chances with Briar," He added._

" _Heh." Cerise laughed dryly, looking back at her own situation. "I wouldn't be so sure," she shrugged playing with her thumbs and her expression falling considerably; the change enough to be noticed and leave a bitter feeling on the boys around._

 _The enchanted prince's anger died, for he noticed it was unreasonable, his shoulders fell with a heavy sigh and his eyes went to his hands again. "It's helpless, then. I have no chance with Briar."_

 _The brothers looked at each other and noticed how Cerise mirrored Hopper entirely, in her physical posture, and in spirits. They were about to interject when the raspy voice filled the air. "You got better chances…"_

 _All three boys eyes went wide at the comment, only two of them correctly filling the space left by the intonation at the end with '…than me.' The third one had heard something completely different. He had filled the same space with '…than you think,' and his heart soared high._

" _Really?!" he stood, overjoyed, failing to see the faces in front of him. His mind roamed in the realms of his dreams and expectations, the pink that he had almost given up returning stronger. The two brothers tried to bring their friend back but it was pointless. In a second the identical aura of the girl and the frog had turned opposite, leaving only the first drowning in the darkness of her doubts._

* * *

"Briar, we are BFFAs and I adore you but… I'm not so sure I'm the most qualified person to… manage you right now." Apple said trying to play her words correctly. In front of her, a bundle of incomprehensible feelings was taking out the most negative of said emotions upon her bitter black coffee, no sugar, no cream.

The pink princess looked up pushing her bangs back in frustration. ' _This was a bad idea,'_ she kept thinking. But after being left alone in her room the way she had, Apple seemed to be her best option. She needed a friend to rant and vent, someone who would take her side, someone to talk about _love troubles_. Apple was that friend; she always had been that friend. She would be lying if she said Ashlynn had not crossed her mind too but, Briar thought, _'she's too mature to let me hear what I want to hear.'_

However, in the middle of her rush to release her complains, Briar had forgotten the essentials. In order to fulfill her rant she had to spill the magic beans. She liked Cerise, and the development had been so new that she was unsure whether or not the beans would become a huge stalk. Not having thought things through, she had called Apple to meet at Hocus Latte, and it had been a nice and awkward good half an hour without comment from the main topic.

Briar took another sip of her horrendous drink and after thoroughly torturing her taste buds she knew what resource she had to use: calling the situation hypothetical and omitting names (though it would be completely obvious in my opinion).

"I'm sorry, Apple. I'm just worrying over this nonstop and well, I need your opinion on something."

"Off course! You can ask me anything," the blonde said so brightly you could swear she was emitting her own light. Briar winced a little at her enthusiasm.

"Ok, let's say- and this is completely hypothetical, let's say that I…" the pink princess struggled to let out the last part, biting her lip before finally deciding on it "…like someone."

The blond princess couldn't help but stand up in a jump and a squeal, "Wow! Briar this is awesome news! Wh-"

"Hypothetical, Apple!" Briar almost shouted as she reached and tugged her softly in the arm, mindful of their surroundings. The standing girl stopped on cue and bashfully sat down with a little smile on her face, this had to be the first time her BFFA had brought up _love_ to the conversation so… who was there to blame her?

"Oh! Ok, sorry. Please continue," she gestured taking her drink in her hands.

"Ahem- well, let's –hypothetically-" Briar felt the need to specify again "say that I like someone… oh! But I'm not sure how that person feels about me, ok?" she rushed to add as she saw Apple opening her mouth to speak again. "And while I'm trying to figure out their feelings towards me…" the pink princess started playing the pronoun game "…they go and encourage someone else to go after me," she finished exposing her case resting her back on the sofa and looking down to the side with a hurtful expression. Briar then took a deep breath and looked up again. "Isn't that horrible? Is like- I don't know!" she looked up in exasperation, a bit of heartbreak creeping up in her and bundling in her throat. "Maybe they don't even care about how _I_ feel," she barely finished containing the tears she didn't notice forming at the corner of her eyes. Apple's cheerfulness died with her friend's words and was replaced by a motherly stand; this was indeed a rare occasion.

"Briar, I understand," the red princess said reassuringly while resting her hand on her friend's knee, and thinking back a little she naturally continued, "I would feel hurt if that were to happen to me."

Briar looked up for a bit and then moved forward to rest her forehead on her hands. "And to top it all we just went and had a fight over it."

Apple was caught off guard. "So, you complained about it and it went badly?"

"You bet." Briar laughed dryly. "She wouldn't even look me in the eye when she left." Aaaaaaaand the pink princess forgot about the pronoun game!

"Maybe you managed that poorly." Apple said like a question, having a hard time picturing the scene (now that her idea of whom they were talking about was… well… confirmed).

"Pff- Yeah, but what would you have done, Apple, when the person you are interested in goes and tells someone else they got a chance with you?"

"Well, did Cerise know she had a chance?" the red princess asked finding the source of the misunderstanding, a parallel of that story still fresh in her mind. At the sight of a taken aback Briar, Apple's blood rushed. _'Ugh, I accidentally said her name.'_ Trying to cover it up she repeated her question after the seconds passed without an answer. "Did they know they had a chance, Briar?"

Briar's thoughts rushed behind her eyes, but she firmly shut them down and frowned while looking front. "Girl, I thought you would take my side."

"I'm on your side," Apple sighed with a shrug and a roll of her eyes.

"I didn't expect you to go all mature like this," the pink princess rested her back again and crossed her arms, pouting.

"Well, if I plan to be a Queen someday, I have to play the part," Apple responded while remembering her drink and finishing it.

"Hmmm- It may be best if I go right now." Briar said as she looked at the hour in her mirrorphone, not really having to go, but wanting to.

"Great, Briar! If you talk to them and tell them how you feel I'm sure they'll understand." Apple cheered on while watching her companion stand up.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Apple." Briar answered calm and collected. "This was all hypothetical," she said looking at blue eyes. "I got some party planning to do." She took a step towards the exit. "Charm you later."

Apple sat there, and sighed again _'She'll come around,'_ she thought as she peered at her phone's background photo; the dark purple-ish colors of the picture quite a contrast with her bright case. ' _I just know they'll work it out.'_

* * *

" _Hopper is a good guy, you know?"_

" _I know! It's just-"_

" _He may not look like it but he puts his heart into stuff."_

" _He is a good friend, alright."_

" _You know he is looking for more than friendship."_

" _Hmmm… Why don't_ _ **you**_ _go out with him then?"_

" _Why don't you?"_

" _Hexcuse me?"_

" _He wants to go with you to the party, doesn't he?"_

" _Yes. But I'll choose who I go with, Cerise."_

" _He is a good choice. I don't think he is a good dancer… but he is crazy about you."_

" _Girl, listen to me; maybe I… have someone else in mind."_

" _Well… he is a prince."_

" _Oh. So, for you, being a prince makes anyone a better option."_

" _No, I didn't mean-"_

" _Then, what did you mean? Just because a guy with a title is better for you, it doesn't mean it is for me."_

" _So I'm talking to a Royal now? Sorry, I forgot to bow."_

" _Don't you do that now."_

" _So it's good for you to look at me as a peasant but not for me to look at you as royalty?"_

" _Stop. You're being unfair."_

" _Am I the one being unfair? All I did was pair you up with a prince."_

" _Stop getting into other's business, Cerise. My prince is still a hundred years away from now."_

"…"

"…"

" _I see."_

" _Hey! Where are you-"_

" _Training. Bye."_

Cerise felt the taste of the grass, falling face first on her side, the blow sending her to the floor… once again. For a moment she considered staying there, she just felt oddly comfortable, was there a reason to stand? She was tired, she was hurt… and the blow was painful too. She opened her eyes at the sound of steps approaching her. The red cloth in front of her, as it had been doing for a while, mocking instead of reassuring her. She wanted to be left there, she didn't want to see or hear anyone.

"You ok, Cerise?" the girl on the floor breathed deeply, being left alone was too much to ask for… especially when she had chosen to be accompanied herself.

"Yeah," the red girl responded to her trainer, while making to stand up. "You're being soft with me, Darling," she added when she was fully standing.

"I wasn't asking about the blow." Darling said handing the hooded girl her training sword.

' _They had to be siblings,'_ Cerise thought. The Charming were quite perceptive.

This was actually playing well, the hooded girl considered, since at the end… She had looked for someone to talk to. Cerise's first attempt was off course Daring, but she thought better than to worry her friend, or worse, make him cancel his plans when she knew very well he had planned a visit to Rosabella's place; he was quite nervous to meet the Beast in the flesh… more so since he was the father of his official girlfriend and he had quite the playboy reputation.

Cerise's second option was her, despite the feline's comments against it, now regular companion, Kitty Cheshire. Their relationship had not done a full °180 but they seemed to get along just fine, and with the passing of days the twin-tailed girl even stopped worrying about being seen with the caped one. Kitty was also the second person to know about Cerise's feelings for Briar and, even though their conversations had barely touched the topic again, she seemed like a safe option.

" _Are you stupid? Yeah, you're stupid. It's all your fault. Stupid,"_ however, was the only thing she got from the lavender girl while she looked at her with 'duh' written all over her face. _"I even feel sorry for Briar… having to deal with your stupidity,"_ she continued saying before spotting a certain Wonderland princess and running to her side. _"You better fix this, stupid,"_ she finally said as she waved goodbye and disappeared.

' _I've never been called stupid so many times,'_ Cerise thought at the memory. But in her mind what Kitty said made sense; she had to fix this somehow. But here she was in the second day since the discussion and still not knowing what to do.

Among other things, Cerise also considered confiding in Raven. She had done it before and she felt awkward for not considering the purple witch first. Who would have thought she would have so many people to talk about her secrets. And that was the problem; she was so used to keeping secrets it felt weird to have so many people knowing about one. Was it even a secret anymore? It was all so confusing. The family secret was easy… since it was a _family_ secret; though there was Raven… and Daring… So then again, two people knowing was the top…? While thinking this she dropped the idea, along trying to speak with her big bad sis; she would probably get annoyed by the drama.

She had tried everything… to run away from the problem, that is. She had tried to physically run to clear her mind… but the matter kept, for lack of a better word, running in her thoughts. Besides, the track field wasn't distracting enough and her favorite place, the Dark Forest, had become a reminder of the pink princess wherever she went. Those caramel tresses floating around a beautiful creature were a torture to her clenching heart. She had tried to stay shut in her room too, but she was never one to stay still (less when she was so anxious) and anyway Cedar soon recognized something was wrong and lying to her honest friend was one of the hardest things to do.

So, her last option became training until the hexhaustion somehow or another brought a clear mind and an answer. Nonetheless, it was obvious she wasn't present during the session. It was so obvious when something was bothering her, not only Darling was perceptive but anyone would notice how distracted she was. She had taken so many obvious blows, Darling even considered Cerise was trying to punish herself for something.

Resting now on the floor in a similar fashion they had from their first training sessions, Darling awaited patiently for Cerise to speak up. The later still wondering if it was okay to completely confide in Darling… and if so, the possibility of her trainer's reaction being similar to Kitty's.

Her mind a mess, she found reassurance in fiddling with her pink handkerchief; and then, while looking down to it she found the small punch to speak:

"Do you think I can truly be a knight?"

Darling paused her drinking for a moment, peering her companion before finishing and responding.

"Well, we are just beginning with basic form, but if you prepare yourself and make it your goal I'm sure you'll become one."

Cerise looked at her trainer, whose answer, though not wrong, was way off from the one she was looking for. A _prince_ was out of the question off course… but a _knight…_

"What if…" the hooded girl wondered, "what if I wasn't born to become a knight?"

Darling watched carefully in silence… the question echoing back to her own childhood up in that tower. She smiled.

"I guess no one truly knows what they were born for, Cerise." Darling weighed her words, so heavy in a world where adults believed they knew for sure what their kids were born for, and the adults before them knew what they were born for too. "It is up to us to choose who we want to become."

"Not everyone is free to do so." Cerise bitterly responded, Briar's curse coming back to mind. "There are people who cannot change what happens to them."

"Cerise." Darling called to be looked at, a resolved stare with a content smile looking right into the called girl's eyes. "No one can control what happens to them, but we all can choose who we want to become."

WOOOO, you tell her, Darling!

Mom?

I mean…

Love?

You know what… she's right! Even from a royal standpoint… even from _any_ standpoint. And… whatever after! Let me fangirl, dmmt!

 _Giggle-_ ok mom.

Come here you tongue twister, _kiss-_

Ok… let me continue before you get all corny…

The knight's sight fell to her scratched hands, so similar to those of her mother, a reminder of what she'd been through and where that had led her. Darling, as usual, knew what she was talking about. She let a loud sigh to release all her own experiences; all the looks, all the murmurs, all the self-doubt she had to overcome.

"You make it sound so easy…" Cerise sighed herself, looking up, missing the days she would too believe she was in control of her own destiny. She was so far away from those Rebel thoughts now... no one had control over destiny.

"Oh! But it's not. We need to work hard in order to become who we want to be." Darling expressed cheerily, trying to keep clear the difference between controlling destiny and who we become.

"What if I can't become what I _need_ to be?" The red girl pulled her cape and caressed the cloth with her thumb.

"Need? For what?" The white knight asked with something similar to concern.

"For _whom._ " Cerise answered.

Darling shook her head and pulled a sad smile. "I think you've lost from the beginning if you are doing this with that mindset. Quit."

Cerise was taken aback by what she was hearing. "Wha- But isn't it what this is all about? To become stronger to protect someone?"

"No. You got it all wrong... you don't _need_ to do that… you _want._ We train for our own sake. To be the person we want to be so we can protect precious people to us." Darling said lightly, weirdly feeling like an older sister for the first time in her life.

Cerise looked down to her hands and rubbed her left palm…"I would need to be someone else entirely for this person's sake though."

"So you want to become someone else?" Darling tried to follow as she peeked under the red girl's hood.

"I-no… maybe… for that person…" The girl in response hid even further in her clothes.

"What is wrong with being Cerise?" The knight rested her head on her knuckles still confused but amused by her companion's reactions.

"Wha- nothing!" Cerise furiously replied, suddenly showing her face front impetuously. She pulled herself to stand on her knees, pride bursting from her father's side of the family.

"Then, perhaps, has this person asked you to be someone else?" Darling pushed unfazed by Cerise's pride display. The silence that followed pulled her eyes from the sky to the girl sitting beside her. She couldn't help but lifting a brow at the possibility of an affirmative answer. "Have they, Cerise?"

The lack of a reply and the shock on the hooded girl's face worried Darling, and if she was pretty sure _who_ they were talking about, she didn't seem as sure about what kind of a person that _who_ was now. But soon her worries disappeared when she saw realization on Cerise's face.

"No. She's never…" The red girl fell back to sit again, as she let everything sink in.

Darling sighed and with a confident smile patted her trainee on the shoulder. "At the end, Cerise, it's easier to admit… we are doing this for ourselves. And, you know what? It is better that way."

Cerise glanced at the white knight and then back to the floor. She pulled her mouth in a line and released a sigh pushing her bangs up, straightening her back she looked at her trainer again with renewed resolution. "You know, you're a great mentor, Darling."

"Flattery will get you nowhere; I'll still kick your butt." Darling replied while standing up and offering her hand to help Cerise up.

The hooded girl looked at her in the eye as she pulled a smile to the side of her mouth and taking her hand she said: "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

"So…" Cerise interjected once they were both up "Wanna go for another round?"

Darling pulled a smile of her own. "Fine by me, but if I win…"

* * *

"CUPID?! Really?! You're making me talk to Cupid?" Cerise half murmured half shouted while she and Darling walked down the hall to said girl and Blondie's room.

"Well, I won…" Darling enjoyed teasing her friend (though she knew it was an easy win). "You gotta do as I say, remember?"

"But I thought you would make me your gofer or something… why Cupid of all things?"

"Wow, you're making it sound as if you really dislike Cupid… She would be hurt to hear you." Oh, Darling you know why she's so against it.

"I like Cupid, it's just she…"

"She'll know right away you're in love with someone and will try to help you out."

Cerise stopped right there, frozen, making Darling turn and roll her eyes.

"C'mon, Cerise, I don't need to be a genius to notice." The knight went back to pick her friends hand to drag her over down the hall. "Not to know you're kind of in a bump with this person either." Wow, way to go Darling.

Yeah, it was about time someone did something about it.

You sure seem interested in this now, Dear.

Cerise groaned the remaining of the way, mumbling something or other to herself, until they stood in front of the love goddess' door. Darling knocked cheerfully.

"Come in!" A voice replied from inside.

"Special delivery for C.A. Cupid." The white knight joked as she stepped in, Cerise in hand.

"Hi, Cupid." The hooded girl said waaaaaaaaaaay less enthusiastic than the girl in front of her. The pink haired girl smiled from ear to ear at the sight of her friends and as the most wonderful host, welcomed them in. "Hello to both of you."

* * *

 **Merry Christmas everyone!**

 **This one was so hard to sit down and write since... well the next one is one of those I'm reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally excited to write, so every time I sat down I started daydreaming about that chapter and not this one x'D I'm really sorry for the wait.**

 **This time I brought you some lame drama... If you felt like when your friends who are into each other fight and the answer is so obvious everyone around them feels annoyed... Great! cuz that's what I was going for!**

 **Darling's so fun to write... a good match between serious and laid back. The Charm must run in the family...**

 **(If you ever want to pressure me into writting you can do it over at Twitter or Instagram both yuihopes - and maybe you can also check out my other writting format - hopefully, you won't be dissappointed, it got illustrations all over the place... but that's a given- If you need more motivation... I did a CeriseXBriar comic page for inktober)**

 **Read you later!**


	9. Ch 08- Page ripper, page turner

The day was finally upon us! Music filled the decorated track field were Briar had her best party yet, welcoming the Neverlanders brought for the Bookball game of the centur-

"Shut up…" Wu-? Hey! I was getting inspired here!

Sweetie I don't think Cerise was talking to you…

I agree. She can't hear us.

Oh! Right… sorry…

"Shut up!" Cerise murmured teeth-clenched, her sharp ears unable to pull back from a conversation long across the field. The red girl wasn't feeling festive to begin with; she had even planned on skipping the party. However, Cerise didn't count on Cedar forgetting her mirrorphone and coming back into their dorm room after the red girl arrived from her purposely long run.

" _What are you doing running this late? Today's the welcoming party! I can't believe you're not ready!" Cedar paced around the room to take her phone and then give her a stern look. Facing the surprised and sweaty Cerise, the wooden girl rolled her eyes and smiled. "Get in the shower, I'll help you get ready or we'll never get there."_

" _But-"_

" _GO!"_

 _Cerise turned around and painfully closed her eyes at her frustrated plan, before sighing and reluctantly taking her towel. 'Maybe she'll be gone when I'm out…' Cerise insisted in her mind, contemplating the idea of an eternal shower. But she couldn't do it (duh), and soon enough she was out of the bathroom dreading the idea of a night that was just beginning._

And what a night she was having…

In a good way?

I don't think so, Dear.

She wouldn't acknowledge it, but, Godmother! She was being that person beside the food table who just mumbled to herself, waiting for enough hours to pass so she could leave. Of course she had tried to have fun at least. She had tried to forget about everything and just hang out with her friends like she would any other day… and any other day. Things worked for a while, but they were bound to get weird when you're trying to avoid the host of the party.

Somewhere around the 30 minute mark after she arrived, the home and the guest team found common ground (after having approached each other rather passive aggressively, mind you) and more or less merged into a single group. Despite the tension arising from the heated competition, the Neverlanders turned out to be quite a fun bunch, and as any foreign to Ever After they were full of curiosity about the place and its inhabitants.

After all that, Cerise couldn't bring herself to hate the Neverland bookball team. Even after a group of them "took hold" of the gorgeous princess who had welcomed them so warmly.

The hooded girl wasn't sure as how long it had been since she basically ran to the opposite side of the field, fearing her instincts would kick in and rip off someone's flesh, being well aware of her previous jealousy infused "slips."

'She'll probably leave in a sec…' Cerise innocently thought at first, but now she wondered if that sec would ever come.

"Shut up...shut up… shut up…" The hooded girl casted as a charm below her breath every time one of those young boys made an attempt at flirting with Briar. Kindly enough for Cerise's heart, the princess had not reciprocated in any case, but maaaaaaaaaan was it hard for the girl in red to watch her smile and laugh at those boys.

Briar hadn't looked back at her the whole night, not that she had noticed, but Cerise, Cerise had her eyes glued to the princess. Not having seen her the past few days had been torture, and by now pulling her sight was impossible. Briar wasn't making it easier either.

When it came to parties, Briar was never the one to claim the spotlight, even when she was the host. She left the mouth opening wardrobe be her BFFAs job. 'I can't get comfortable with the extra attention' she had once confessed to Cerise. But today was different.

Her fluffy knee length dress wasn't too flashy for an outside party such as this, but it suited her too well, bringing glances from everyone to her beautiful naked tan shoulders and back. Cerise surprised herself with the amount of times she found herself tracing every inch of the little exposed skin, masterfully framed by the subtle fade from light pink to white of the dress. Over and over the hooded girl found herself ensnared by the princess caramel waves, carefully freed just as she liked, driving her crazy every time the curls bounced with her laugh. And each time she built the courage to look at the princess' face, gurl, would Cerise just let out a sigh. Fairy godmother, had she missed her. She was missing her now.

But Cerise wasn't the one standing next to Briar. And while trying to push the thought of that dress being for someone else, her fears were brought to the surface when she heard the princess agree to dance with one of the Neverlanders.

The red girl looked down, her eyes finally letting go of the scene meters away from her. She mentally apologized to Cupid, as she reached to her right pocket where carefully wrapped for its protection laid a Mood flower (raised with love by the goddess herself) given to Cerise for the occasion. The hooded girl knew that despite the many pushes she got… she was too much of a coward, and she was about to do the one thing she does best… run away.

But this is what she wanted, right? After all she had pushed the pink girl to accept Hopper's invitation. Still she couldn't bring herself to witness the moment Briar took the hand of this other guy. So she resigned, pulling her lips in a line, Cerise turned and decided to drag her heart out of this empty field. This was for the best…?

* * *

"FAIRY GODMOTHER, CERISE!" A shout crossed over the field as everybody witnessed Briar walk pass them in a bee line, her frustration evident in her hasty walk.

The pink princess had finally snapped. She had waited, only God knows how long, but it was enough.

Briar had been in a whirlwind of emotions the whole day. The party didn't have her concerned, her excellent team had done a marvelous work as usual; this party would be a page ripper like all the ones before. Hopper wasn't the source of her worries either. The misunderstanding could only be solved one way (talking it out), and even though the enchanted prince's broken heart was enough to break Briar's too, the boy had taken everything the best way possible. Briar was sure; Hopper was finally giving up on her. The things would be awkward between them for a while but they both knew it was just a matter of time; their friendship was just too awesome to give up over this. If anything, this would probably make it stronger in the long run.

No, Briar was uneasy because she knew she had to confront Cerise sooner or later. If anything, she wanted it to be sooner. She would have liked it to be sooner. But there she was, all prettied up surrounded by guys meters away from her main objective. What was she thinking? She kept asking herself when she arrived. _"Wow, Briar! You look amazing!"_ thanks Apple… she thought as she wondered how obvious it was that she had put some extra effort for tonight. She was so tense, fearing she had overdone it.

' _What was I thinking?'_ She wondered yet again recalling back in her dorm room, the hours spent choosing her outfit. This one had been her first choice but she changed a million times after catching herself thinking how much she wanted a certain hooded girl to look at her and gawk. She went back to it nonetheless… since she understood she didn't want Cerise to look at her wearing anything but that dress.

' _So much for nothing'_ she thought when she saw the very person she had prettied up for run in the opposite side whenever she tried to casually get close. She hated this… she hated this in such a similar way she had disliked it back when the princess herself was ignoring Cerise. They had come such a long way since then. Why were they in this situation again? It was so stupid. It was such a stupid fight (thank goodness someone finally noticed!). Briar missed Cerise, she missed her so much, why did she have to be so stubborn? Why blame the hooded girl when the feelings were all hers? Their friendship was so out the page, why couldn't things stay as they were.

And then, after taking her small mirror out to do a quick check up (facing opposite the girl of course), the princess knew why. Because looking in the reflection at the sight that was Cerise took her breath away; because the way she rested back to the table made her look so confident even when she was alone; because the dark denim (more reminiscent of a certain bad wolf) hugged her perfectly worked legs to the point she couldn't take her eyes of them; because her long dark red hoodie over a plaid cap and a gray v-neck did poorly in hiding the curves of her stylized hair and her fit body; because in the mirror she caught Cerise looking fiercely at her, a long and self indulgent stare with those passionate gray eyes of hers. It just clicked. The hooded girl's eyes were stuck to her back making her ticklish when she noticed her sight caressing it all from the bottom to the top until the fear of locking eyes made her close her hand mirror in a jump, her heartbeat ringing in her ears.

Trying to even her quickening breath she thought: ' _You caught her, Briar…'_ the princess let a smile crept on her considering the dress a victory _'time to reel her out…'_

The plan seemed obvious… at least to her. Trying to get close had proven fruitless; how come she was always so powerless against the red girl's willingness to interact with her? So, she had to draw her in. She had never done it herself, but going by her best frienemy stories, getting them jealous would do the trick. However, no matter how much the party planner tried to summon Cerise's jealousy, the response she wanted never came. ' _Come and talk to me, you jerk!'_ she thought while making sure she was still being watched. She was getting tired of getting hit on by so many guys but, you see, Briar is a princess… and she is used to being pursued. As a last resort, quite sure Cerise was also _listening_ to them, she decided to accept the dance invitation of one of the Neverlanders. This time for sure. _This time for sure._

But things ended with Cerise looking away and taking her leave, and Briar snapping and shouting her name in her rage, startling not only the guy she was supposed to go dancing with, but every single guest in a 7 meter radius. The red girl looked back looking like a deer caught in the headlights, a storming princess making her way through the crowd directly to her.

"YOU ARE SO ANNOYING!" She shouted to her face, referring to both of them. "You coward… say something!" Briar continued unsure to who she was talking to, the girl to her front or herself. Cerise opened her mouth but closed it not knowing what was going on anymore, she looked everywhere and back to the princess' eyes utterly confused. Briar sighed and got even closer realizing waiting wouldn't lead her anywhere (she never considered Faybelle's advice reliable, why did she start today?). The princess had to call her bravery to continue. "You're supposed to come after me," she explained still a little louder than she should, but noticing the confusion in Cerise's eyes she took a deep breath and said in a much quieter, much sweeter voice while slowly taking the other girl's hand: "Do you want to make up with me or not?"

* * *

' _HEX YEAH!'_ was Cerise's mental response before her whole self actually understood what was going on, which on the other hand happened sooner than she could actually move. Everything had happened so fast that the hooded girl didn't know what to do; the only thing that she was sure of was that her princess was holding her hand and in an incredible turn of events she was allowed to gaze at her mauve eyes yet again. Cerise relaxed, her own hand retaining the grasp of the other girl, her thumb softly caressing in circles as a reflex. Remembering she hadn't answered the princess question (not out loud) she nodded, getting her face closer to the other girl's; the magnetic impulse numbing her senses and leaving her like an addict about to relapse after a long period of abstinence.

And Briar… she seemed to be going through the same as she raised herself on her toes ever so slightly to close their faces proximity to the point of tilting her face a bit to the right while she lifted their joined hands to intertwine their fingers in an almost choreographed fashion, hooded eyes matching purring smiles. They were both just so hungry for each other that they were about to throw it all and become the only people ever after. But they knew better. The sound of the party reached their ears little by little in tempo of their hands separating, though Briar kept their face distance until she muttered breathlessly over Cerise's lips:

"Then let's do this again, ok?"

 _UNF!-I_ don't even know what's going on… but I'm loving it!

Mom's fangirling intensifies... –giggle-

Shh! You'll ruin it, Brooke.

Dad, how are you handling the … tension?

I'M NOT LOOKING! I'M NOT LOOKING!

Cerise didn't know what was going on either, the way she acted, the way Briar did… were they about to ki-? NO WAY! NO WAY! YES WAY! Things weren't being registered at the right moment in her head, and it definitely wasn't the time to be debating it with herself. She relinquished control over her actions to her instincts. It was a dangerous choice since she couldn't trust her big bad side but she just wanted to trust this moment so much that her eyes turning became but an afterthought.

The hooded girl smiled as she watched the princess go back to the other side of the field, making her way through the fairytales who were already back to their own business (most of them still discreetly paying attention to the scene, the out coming gossip too juicy to just let this pass). She walked slowly after her, stopping a few steps behind where Briar met their group again; her dance partner waiting a little unsure. "Ummm, so, you still wanna dance?"

"I'm sorry…" Cerise interjected poking out from behind Briar. If the princess wanted to be pursued, she would and she would give it her best. So she stepped in closer to the pink princess' back, enough so the hooded girl's cheek brushed her hair. Briar tensed since, even though she had requested it, she had no control over Cerise's role and actions. Then she felt it, making her send her shoulders further back, the red girl's fingers brushing her featherly from the center of her back, to her shoulder and long through her arm until she reached her hand, placing it graciously atop of her own. Cerise's eyes never left the sight of the boy as she smiled and continued "…but she reserved this one for me."

Cerise held the silence, playing the scene at her own pace, leaving the princess clueless as what was next and they were both enjoying it. The boy nodded and returned Cerise's friendly smile, he looked down for a bit marking how he understood the nature of the situation as he brought a hand to the back of his neck to turn and mix with his friends, not before giving Cerise a congratulatory grin. Cerise smirked back, she was definitely going to be friends with this guy.

The hooded girl brought her other hand to Briar's slim waist slightly pulling her closer to her front. Her fingers finally released to touch as much as they couldn't five chapters ago. She leaned in to close the embrace with her head, hiding her face on the princess' neck. She became sure she could breathe the sweet perfume of Briar's shampoo for the rest of her life.

"Cerise?" The princess asked softly while melting inside the hug, shivering a little over the girl's breath tickling her every time she exhaled.

Said girl closed her eyes holding back a couple of tears born from melancholic happiness as she cuddled further making sure Briar could hear her. "I'm sorry."

Almost as a reflex Briar turned herself to face the red girl, who in turn joined her hands loosely at the small of the princess' back. She cupped Cerise's face with both her hands, holding her up so she couldn't hide her eyes. Noses grasping at the closeness, Briar shushed softly while shaking her head. "Shh, shh, shh. I overreacted, I was mean, I just…" the princess looked down for a second only to look back with apologetic eyes. "I'm sorry too."

The world of Ever After became perfect for a moment-

OH GOD, OH GOD, OH GOD!

Mom!

I'm sorry, I'll keep it down…

Thanks.

 _-Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God…-_

 _Ahem_ \- The world of Ever After became perfect for a moment, as soft lips –OH GOD, OH GOD!- landed upon a rosy cheek (aww…)

Cerise had had to pull all the brakes over her freed instincts, just in time to deviate her leaning in a little upwards. _'Not the time, not yet,'_ she chastised herself to not feel disappointed. The moment had felt so right for a kiss, though, that she couldn't fight herself enough to stop. And although it was on the cheek, she was _kissing_ Briar. BIG CHICKEN SANDWICH IN A BASKET! She was kissing Briar!

The hooded girl pulled back to find an equally surprised look on the girl between her arms, whose hands were just barely brushing her chin. Both of them felt the heat coming to their faces. What? They had been so in for it moments ago but now they were stepping back. That little contact had crossed that bridge, that invisible wall they felt whenever they came close. That was marking their beginning; suddenly it all felt real. This felt real.

They awkwardly separated, each looking away while blushing heavily, neither knowing what to say. Cerise tracked back their words and actions a little trying to make sense of it all, when she saw a couple walking towards the dance floor. She was the first to raise her voice…

"So… Is my reservation still valid?" Briar looked up at her a smile creeping up her face.

"Pfft-" the princess bended front in laughter.

' _Smooth'_ Cerise mentally face palmed herself.

"It is," Briar took a small tear from the corner of her eyes. She offered her hand a light blush still on her cheeks. "Let's go." The princess commanded as Cerise took her hand, leading them both to the dance floor.

Briar's former dance partner shrugged at the sight of the girls, a contempt smile on his face. He and his friends then turned to a couple of cute girls nearby but before he could say anything the lavender haired one took the hand of the one with a heart over her eye and walked past them as she smiled while saying "sorry, we Wonderlanders don't understand the welcoming customs of Ever After."

He felt a consoling hand over his shoulder as he gaped, receiving only a wink and an apologetic nod from each of the girls. He was a good guy… but today wasn't his day.

* * *

Briar never thought her _first dance,_ you know… _**that**_ _first dance,_ would be like this. There was no slow song to encompass their steps, she wasn't being lead with ultimate grace at an open dance floor for her alone, and she wasn't getting lost in the speaking silence between her and her partner's eyes. Nope. Instead, DJ Piper was dropping the beat, while she brushed her shoulders among her dancing friends, leading a clumsy girl, shouting so she could hear her whenever she gave her encouragement to keep dancing.

She was holding both hands with Cerise, the girl looking down at her own awkward movements, red in embarrassment, glancing up at the princess face every now and then to make sure she was doing it right. They would laugh every time the red girl lost the rhythm and Briar would just pull her for an exaggerated fancy dance move so Cerise would laugh more freely. They were being dumb, making jokes, being mean; having fun. They were clumsy, simple, awkward; imperfect. They were being themselves against every little expectation Briar had in her girly fantasies, and the princess… wouldn't have it any other way.

Eventually, at the end of a song, Briar finally pulled the cute creature close to her, enclosing her with her arms, both of them laughing as they touched foreheads.

"That was terrible!" Cerise confessed between giggles.

"You'll get better," Briar encouraged her, nuzzling their foreheads lovingly before taking them both out of the dance floor.

They attacked the food table, stealing bites from each other's food, chatting away and annoying one another until they needed a drink. They stood near the beverages in a quieter side of the track field.

"Really?!"

"Yeah! And then after refusing to wear them in public for a week she noticed she'd lost them." Briar took a sip of her water. "You should have seen Apple's face when she saw a bridge troll using her glasses as a toothpick!"

"Got them back?"

"Oh, I go them back for her… but she got a new pair."

"I can imagine why."

"Yeah, I bring them to her room from time to time just to gross her out."

"You should replace the new ones with those."

"Ewww!" Briar nudged the girl, and Cerise worried, remembering the flower in her pocket.

"Oh, no…" hastily she took it out, sighing in relief as she unwrapped it and found it was ok. Briar looked at her curiously as she stared at the white petals. She admired it a little longer before looking up at the princess face again, surprising her in the process.

"I had forgotten about this…" Cerise pointed at the flower with a shy smile, reminding the princess of her weakness for her bashful expressions. "I- I brought this for you…" she continued as she offered the gift, still holding it like something precious and fragile.

"But, we were…" Briar felt her stomach bubbly as she received the flower, her thoughts bringing her back to a couple of hours ago.

"I was hoping," Cerise stole the attention of that flow of mauve, instinctively pulling her hood front with her hand, "it would help me clear things up…"

The sole idea that the girl was so into making up with her made the princess swoon, a heart throb announcing her feelings loudly into her ears, she held the flower to her chest as she stepped in the red girl's front space before falling forward, losing consciousness in her arms. It may have been hard to notice for the inexpert eye, but the flower had changed colors.

Cerise hugged the princess figure, who in turn held with her life to the flower in her hands. The red girl got Briar into a princess carry, glad she had been there to stop her fall. She walked over to explain her friends what had happened and apologize for calling it a night. Ashlynn let her know their dorm room was open, so she could leave Briar on her bed. Cerise nodded regarding goodnights to everyone she crossed in her path, understanding smiles going her way at the sight of the princess.

Cupid and Blondie were the last to see them as Cerise made her way out of the field. The apparition of a huge smile making the love goddess cheeks hurt. Blondie looked at her in confusion.

"Wow… I've never seen Briar fall asleep at party before…" She worried when she didn't get an answer. "Chariclo?"

"Blondie, do you know what pink means in a mood flower?" Cupid asked, her smile contagious, while she slowly took the blond girl's hand.

The reporter blushed at the attention, smiling and looking down, being reminded of a magic flower in her room of a similar color.

* * *

" _I know a place to go,"_ the sound travelled through the halls of the girls charmitorium, _"that no one else would know,"_ far away from the sounds of the party in the school's bookball field.

" _You and me discovering another world,"_ the rough voice of a hooded girl filled the space between the walls with little effort, as there was no other sound roaming in the serene of the night.

" _Take my hand, run with me,"_ Cerise looked down for a moment to the girl she carried in her arms. _"We're falling down, we're feeling free,"_ She stopped her calm walk to hold her a little tighter for a second before whispering the next verse _"We can be anything we want to be…"_

She picked the pace as she continued singing " _Do you wonder? if we look inside…"_ unaware of a weak eyelashes batting. _"Do you wonder? Maybe we could fly…"_ Briar started to make sense of what she was looking at, a weak smile matching the one in her sight while she also made sense of what she'd been hearing.

" _Do you wonder what we could be, what we could see?"_ playing ironically to the lyrics, the princess closed her eyes.

" _Do you wonder 'cuz you'll never know? Do you wonder what is possible?"_ Briar nodded slightly as if she answered the question. _"Do you wonder what we could be?"_ unconsciously, the princess shifted a little to snuggle on Cerise's neck. The red girl returned the gesture leaning her head softly. She kept the last part for herself. _'Come to wonderland with me'._

"You're up?" Cerise asked into the princess hair, receiving a nod on her neck as an answer.

"You may find it odd, but I'm not used to waking up to a song" Briar's smile could be heard in her voice.

"I'm sorry…" the hooded girl said a little embarrassed.

"Don't be. It was nice." The pink princess stopped hiding her face. "For someone _that_ bad at dancing… you sure have a great voice."

I agree.

Yeah, that dancing was quite cringe worthy…

Mom! Dad! Be nice!

I do agree her singing is good, sweetie.

That doesn't make it any better…

Briar squealed internally at Cerise's blush. "So… gentle." She trailed a little, not used to using that word to describe the girl. "Although… I'm not sure if I have heard that song before…" Briar pulled this familiar sound from her memories, not really knowing where or when had she heard it.

I know this! It's from-

Dad… I think the audience knows _–giggle-_

"Ah… Kitty taught me that song…" Cerise admitted, remembering her instant regret after showing interest for the melody, the eyes of the feline sparkling as she forced her into agreeing to learn the song. "It's a song from Wonderland."

"Kitty, huh?"

Cerise completely missed the jelly filled statement and looking down at the princess' face while still walking she asked "Wanna walk?"

Briar made as if she considered for a second before closing her eyes and shaking her head smiling, then she proceeded to hide her face in the red girl's shoulder once more "I want to hear the rest of the song."

The hooded girl giggled "My pleasure, Princess."

UNF!

Mom… I'm going to need you to control your fangirling from now onwards, ok?

I'll do my best…

And Dad-

I'm handling it the best that I can, ok?

Yeah. Good job, Dad. Keep it on – _giggle-_

Cerise took a deep breath, calming her nervousness as the first verse slipped from her lips; " _We are on a thrilling ride; we just can't believe our eyes,"_ She patted softly with her hand on Briar from where it held her as if involving her in the next statement, " _You and me discovering another world_."

" _Trust me now don't be afraid, I promise you it's worth the wait. We can see everything we've never seen…_ " she sang as she walked the last steps of the hallway leading to Briar's dorm room.

" _Do you wonder? If we look inside…_ " the hooded girl matched the verse with the door opening. " _Do you wonder? Maybe we could fly… Do you wonder what we could be, what we could see?_ " contrary to what the princess expected, Cerise held her still as she approached the bed. Briar watched in silence, " _Do you wonder 'cuz you'll never know? Do you wonder what is possible?_ " as she was carefully placed over the bed, the other girl's body still in contact with hers, lingering atop of her for a moment before Cerise stood up slowly holding her sight.

" _ **I**_ _wonder what we could be…"_ Briar's heart was about to burst as she saw Cerise leaning front, she closed her eyes and clenched her lips before the hooded girl but touched foreheads waiting for her to look her in the eye again before ending the song " _Come to wonderland with me._ "

The red girl initially wanted to kiss the princess forehead before retreating, but she opted for nuzzling instead, she fully stood up and made to turn to the door while saying "I'm guessing you can dress yourself to slee-"

"Don't leave." Briar gasped at her own actions, as she found herself pulling the end of Cerise's long hoodie her other hand clinging to her mood flower, blushing furiously at her own petition, feeling exposed under the red girl's sight.

Cerise looked at the scene in silence for a moment, to the princess sitting position on the bed and the way she looked down avoiding her gaze. She waited for the punch line to kick in. Instead, surprising them both, Briar begged. "Please stay, stay with me. Please…"

Cerise blood pumped fiercely, this was an incredibly dangerous situation. Honestly… she was terrified, and it was pretty clear… Briar was as terrified as her. This last thought drove her doubts behind because as much as she wanted her fear to be the same as the princess or rather the princess' fear to be the same as hers, it was definitely not the case. Something was off with Briar. It hadn't been there before, or maybe it had, but she was too busy drooling over … _other …_ stuff to pay attention to it.

The punch line kicked in. Briar needed her. But not in the direction her adolescent mind had sent her in the first place. Cerise reprimanded her disappointment; looking beyond her raw wants… she pulled back to her feelings. To that place that made her hesitate back in the field; to that which was real, not just a fantasy. Cerise turned taking Briar's hand in hers. She crouched beside the bed in search of the blushing princess' hidden eyes.

Briar looked down in embarrassment, the sight of tears visible at the corner of her eyes… she looked so small.

"Ok." Briar looked up in surprise, finding tender and comforting gray eyes. "I'll stay with you, Princess." Said girl looked down at their joined hands. She felt her face being caressed and the touch leaving too soon to reach her other hand. "I'll take care of this." Cerise said as she took the pink mood flower from her. "Get changed. I'll be right back." But as soon as she said it Briar pulled at her hand, unwilling to let go.

"Briar." The hooded girl summoned the called girl's sight. "I'm going to change and I'll come back. I'll stay with you…" feeling the hold get loose she pulled their palms together, fingertips pointing to the sky. "I promise." The princess agreed in silence, unable to find a reason to doubt Cerise but feeling uncomfortable nonetheless at the sight of her retiring figure as she made her way outside the dorm room.

* * *

The only sound left was the rustling of her clothes as she changed into her clean nightgown. Although she had thought of a shower at first, she felt too tired for it (unsure of why that was) and unknowing of when Cerise may come back she had but washed her face and brushed her teeth, the fresh feeling of the cold water and mint aroma ultimately taking away her restless sensations from the party. The stillness was killing her. She wished the red girl would just come back. The minutes felt eternal and the seconds stifling.

After pulling her hair into loosely tied twin tails, the princess let out a long breath, looking down at her hands she noticed they were trembling. She closed them into fists and hugged herself. There was no mistaking this feeling. She was scared.

When was the last time she had felt it this strongly? She couldn't even remember when… she just remembered she had. She had even forgotten about it before now. How could she have forgotten? It was such an uncomfortable clench at her gut, a strangling sensation pulling the air from inside her chest, as if she was being pushed into a dark abyss.

She had fallen asleep at a party.

That had never happened before. But then again, she had never thought she could fall asleep in any rushing situation, like climbing a beanstalk that reached the clouds and beyond. _'You think it may be time?'_ she remembered her conversation with Faybelle. _'Only the Dark fairy knows'_ was the answer she had received then and every time she asked. However, she could tell. She knew. The time was getting closer.

The clicking from the door pulled her back from her thoughts. Briar turned to receive Cerise, who gifted her with an innocent full teethed smile as she came in offering her mood flower back in a glass bottle serving as a vase. Just as a flower motif adorned the bluish glass, a shy blush covered the red girl's cheeks, contrasting quite well with her clean face (figures she had washed it too) and matching the hood of her gray two piece pajamas.

The sight of the girl broke her heart in two. She wasn't sure why half of her was incredibly glad she was there and the second half was filled with dread.

"I thought it may need some fresh water since it spent most of the night in my pocket, right? Also I had this one laying around and, well…" The silence dragged for a second too long. "Of course if you want you can put it in a… proper vase… I just-"Cerise was stopped by the sudden feel of Briar's hug. The princess hid her face atop of the red girl's chest and did her best to hold her tears, although her breaking voice gave it away.

"Tha-nk yo-u" Cerise let the surprise go with a soft exhale, bringing her arms around the princess' slim figure pulling her up and closer. The girl closed her eyes and breathed in the embrace, engulfing herself in the moment.

"I'm back."

"Mhhmm" Briar nodded in her shoulder.

* * *

Holding the embrace as long as it was needed, eventually they let go. They laughed at the awkward sentiment they both shared and soon enough they were planning how to spend their improvised pajama party.

Sleep was out of the question so they turned to videogames to keep themselves active; Call of Beauty was a nice warm up, leading to Ukulele Hero and concluding with Royal Combat. They gave in frustrated after a while; no one can defeat Crown Zero.

Cerise let a groan announcing the end of her last try, dropping herself backwards on the floor to lay down, controller still in hand. They had comfortably set a fluffy blanket and a bunch of pillows in front of the mirrorscreen to set the pajama party mood. Briar looked back at the red girl laughing.

"You try it!"

"I think one of us being salty is enough."

"Salty?!"

Both girls kept goofing around, while the videogame sounds played in the background. The princess lay down on her belly, looking down at the hooded girl. Talking about games, arcade stories, movies, characters, actors, snacks, leading to favorite candies; they ended up doing question rounds.

"This is too cliché…" Cerise admitted as she tried her best to beat the princess at thumb wrestling.

"Classic, I prefer calling it classic." Briar said cheerily before making her last movement and winning the match.

Cerise threw herself on her back defeated (once again) "I don't even know what to ask!" she responded placing her arms crossed over her eyes, pleading for the princess to give up (for once in her life).

"C'mon! trial round, just pick whatever comes to mind." Yeah… she's never gonna do it, I don't think she even knows the definition of the verb 'give up.'

Cerise got it hard, right, Dear?

Well, she's pretty stubborn herself, Love, so…

They're both a handful, alright- _giggle_

The hooded girl peeked from below her elbow and looked at Briar in the eye…"I'm pretty sure I know what your favorite color is."

The princess rolled her eyes and looked back to the red girl with a smile. "Who knows, maybe you'll be surprised." She replied before biting her lower lip with a smile (making Cerise go crazy on the inside in the process).

The red girl looked away for a moment hiding herself again in her arms, she felt a small push on her leg and hiding her smile she sat up."Ok, ok. I give up. What's your favorite color?" She finally asked dismissively.

"Green." Briar answered without hesitation, holding as best as she could her laugh at Cerise's sudden change of expression.

"No way! You're making that up." The hooded girl said, making clear her confusion.

Briar finally giggled earning more distrust from the girl in front of her. She shook her head while containing herself. To further support her honesty she grabbed Cerise's ankle while stating: "No, really." She tilted her head to her side looking away. "I don't blame you for thinking it's pink, though."

Cerise mirrored Briar's gesture, placing her hand atop the other girl's ankle as well while looking for her eyes. "Then, why?"

The princess looked up with a sour smile "It's only one question per round, you know?" Earning a frown from the other party, the princess was left to reconsider and letting out a sigh she continued "Ok fine…" She doubted a little, feeling somehow silly for what she was about to admit. "It's just…" She looked away shyly, taking a strand of hair behind her ear. Her voice getting smaller "…green isn't that much of a princess color."

"Well, that's dumb." Briar nodded a bit hurt at Cerise's reply. "Whoever told you that must be really stupid…" the princess processed the meaning of the hooded girl's words as she looked up to find an honestly irritated Cerise who continued complaining while looking up with a frown, "Stupid _and_ blind, that's the only way it makes sense. I think even wearing green you would look gorge-" Both girls jumped a little. Cerise hunched when finding Briar's eyes on her "I mean…" she looked away for a moment before looking back scratching her suddenly warm cheek, "You would totally rock green, you know?" Looking up again but for a second, the red girl said almost as a whisper "I don't even know what gorge is…"

Briar's blush turned to tender eyes unable to take them away from the precious creature in front of her "Thank you, Cerise…" she said earning gray eyes back on hers "Maybe I'll try wearing green sometime soon…" She said playfully looking thoughtful. She captured Cerise's sight once again "Who knows, we may be able to discover what gorge is…" She finished with a smile.

Cerise rose from her insecure state straightening her back, instinctively pulling herself but a millimeter closer to her princess. She kept her thoughts for herself as much as she wanted to shout them to the world 'You're gorge…'

Briar broke the eye contact a little embarrassed moving on the conversation "Aaaaaaaand… what's your favorite color?"

Cerise rolled her eyes "Really?"

The princess shrugged and giggled, "Hey, who knows? You may really love blue for all I know." She replied playfully, drawing a line on the red girl's knee with her index finger.

"No way" the red girl shyly retrieved to herself, "unlike you I don't know what I would do if I didn't like red as much as I wear it." She continued as she looked up at her hood, recalling their complicated relationship these past days. "What's next?"

"Your pick, this time for real." Briar crossed her arms, bracing herself for a challenge. Cerise, however, trailed from her hood back to mauve eyes a bit more serious than the princess expected.

"What's on your mind?"

Briar unapologetically replied "You're really bad at this game." As she sighed wondering why was it so hard for Cerise to follow a corny game by the book.

"That's your answer?" The red girl asked in all seriousness, wondering if Briar had taken the question as part of the game.

"Yup." The princess replied confirming Cerise's thoughts, "It goes both ways, you know? So, what's on yours?" She asked in turn when the gap of silence announced its arrival.

Maybe the hooded girl could bend the rules for the better, "I'm worried about you. Earlier you seemed…"

"Ack! No. I-" Briar covered her face with a pillow in embarrassment, she wasn't ready to talk about her earlier behavior. She hadn't had the time to process what she had done, nor why she had done it.

"What's going on, princess?" The red girl managed to ask before receiving a pillow to her face.

"It's only one question per round." The embarrassed girl pointed out trying to escape.

Cerise emerged from behind the fluffy offender "But!"

"I already gave you a pass once…" Briar felt her hand being pulled and she noticed she was running away. She looked from her hand back to Cerise's worried face, then down. The red girl pulled herself closer to the princess.

"Why won't you tell me?"

Briar looked up at the sound of a familiar question and clenched her lips into a line before almost whispering… "It's my turn…"

Cerise felt how the hand she was grasping relaxed, and freed her hold in response. "Ok, go on."

Briar doubted but for a second, she hesitated opening her mouth to speak several times but closing it yet again when she felt her lower lip trembling and the fear of her voice breaking made her swallow with a big gulp. But then she just did it, she had to ask sooner or later. She couldn't run away forever. "What's your biggest fear?" She finally said without looking up.

Instinctively Cerise placed herself next to the princess, resting their sides together; they both felt like resting their heads on the other's too. The hooded girl spoke quietly and with full clearness as if she had the answer prepared and rehearsed from her early years."Rejection, I guess. For people not to accept me, for my friends to leave me; I'm afraid of fear itself… which is riddleculous."

Briar felt tears gathering at her eyes, but she held back her feelings as she rose to turn herself to face front the red girl. She clasped their hands together, warmly sharing her heart surprised at the stillness of her voice "It's not. I'm afraid of fear too. Although is my own fear."

They were facing each other, foreheads touching, sides supporting each other with their eyes unfocused looking down. Cerise mimicked Briar's tone of voice as she pulled herself slightly closer. "What is your biggest fear, princess?"

"I- I'm not even sure anymore. I'm just afraid…" was the answer as she took firmer hold of the red girl's hand. She continued a bit of anger making her raise her volume and speed in her wording. "Afraid of the inevitable I guess… afraid of…"

"Destiny." Cerise finished bringing both their sights up front, meeting one another for the first time in a while.

"Yeah." Briar let out with a shaky breath, her eyes watery and bright, betraying her composure from before.

The hooded girl wrapped her arm around the princess, not letting go of her other hand. "I'm here," She simply said softly to her face both of them closing their eyes. Tears rolled down from Briar's cheeks, but nothing had ever felt so comforting in her life. "I'm right here," the red girl repeated making Briar relax and feel embraced by her reassuring presence.

The red girl got surprised when the princess fell front to her arms, hiding her face on her neck a sense of urgency in the way she pulled on her clothes around her belly, as if she was about to vanish in any moment. Hearing sobs, and the erratic breathing over her chest, Cerise provided a moment of silent chatting, letting her actions drive her message through. She placed her hands atop the small back of the girl in her arms and played with the ends of her hair, the movements making a change for the better on Briar, who started calming down as the minutes passed until she practically melted, making Cerise wonder if she had fallen asleep.

Briar spoke, announcing she was awake. "Cerise, I can't promise you I won't leave you." She said from her safe space just above her companion's chest.

The red girl felt a pang at the sound of something akin to an apology for something over their power. "Princess, don't-"

"But I know I could never be afraid of you."

Cerise's ears twitched below her hood, the sting of before much stronger, pulling the pit of her stomach up synchronized with her sight following her thoughts. She looked at her reflection on the dark monitor at her side, her vision stuck to her hood until she focused on the princess own mirrored figure. "My turn…" she said confidently despite her unbearable fear.

Cerise pulled her hood back.

Her sight stuck to her new (real) self on the other side of the glass she asked unsure of the recipient of her question. "What is your greatest secret?"

Briar frowned, confused "I-" She managed before feeling the red girl pushing her shoulders, separating their embrace too short for her liking, bringing her up; holding her still when she faced her once again.

"I'll answer first, ok?" The red girl followed the princess obvious vision route, almost inviting her for a clearer image pulling her sight to the right.

"Cerise?" Came Briar's most awaited first response after the fact. The uncertainty was killing the named girl, the lack of a foreseeable response, the demand of an explanation. She had never prepared for this scenario.

Against her run response, still unable to bring herself and further explore her companion's reaction- _correction_ \- afraid of finding rejection in the eyes of Briar, the girl she loved, she tried to expand on what she was revealing. "This is my big bad secret, this is why I'm afraid… my dad-"

"Can I touch them?"

"Eh?" Cerise looked up unbelieving. Her brain and emotions brought to a halt by the completely unhexpected proposition and unfold of developments.

"Your ears, can I?" incapable of processing the intention, the nature, the reason behind the words that fell from Briar's lips, the red girl was left to look in awe at her companions equanimity and feel kinda silly at her own internal brainwreck.

"uh, sure… go ahead" She hadn't even finished her reply when the sudden movement failed to activate a response in her. Briar's hands reaching behind her eyesight triggered a weird feeling within. So many years unwilling to let someone "trespass" may have been provoking the unfamiliar conflict. She had partially forgotten what thrust felt like.

Suddenly she felt incredibly hot, the only cold feeling perceived from the fingertips making contact with the tips of her ears. She sensed it all, it was extremely clear, every little stroke. It was scary how sensitive she was. Was it because no one was ever in contact with that part of her, not to mention how they were always hidden from even the touch of sunlight?

This was a whole new experience, she couldn't help but feel embarrassed and close her eyes the moment her princess touched a particularly sensitive nerve. She flinched, she felt her face blush. Cerise waited for Briar to be done with, but she kept at it. Her caresses were doing a number on her. The red girl's legs shook to the point where she was sure she may have fallen if she had been standing, the hairs on her arms stood in unison with her body's response, she gulped hard in an attempt to hold a moan that escaped her the same way reality faded from around her.

What the hex was going on?

"Hey…" Cerise felt Briar's hand travel from her ear to her jaw, never leaving her skin, the burning feeling making it so hard to open her eyes, heavy eyelids covering half of them even if she was doing her best. "Wanna know my answer to your question?"

"Wha- yeah…" Cerise uncontrollably said accompanied with an urged whimper. Secrets? Drama? Fear? Destiny? Who cared anymore? Her gut just begged for this moment to go on forever.

"I knew." And then Cerise sobered up.

"Wha- how-" She asked in a jump before feeling pressure over her ears. Briar covered them with her hands looking directly into gray and confused eyes until it clicked. Cerise was brought back to her hazy state after their fall, her merged environment suddenly fitting into place. "You…"

Briar pulled her head to her face-

OH MY GO-mph

Thanks, Dad… Sorry, Mom.

Briar pulled Cerise in and kissed her on the cheek, as if she needed more to get the red girl overheated. _'That's payback for before'_ She thought smiling against the shocked girls skin.

"I've known for a while now." She confessed holding their faces side to side, enjoying every minuscule jump in Cerise's ears.

"But-"

"C'mon, Cerise, silly wolf ears? Only Maddie could fall for that" Briar said taking hold of the red girl's ears to emphasize. She pulled herself back to touch foreheads with the girl in front of her, still not letting go of the sides of her head. "Thank you, for telling me. But then again…" she breathed on the other girl's face. "I could never be afraid of you, Cerise."

The called girl melted in the touch, tears building up on her eyes, but unable to keep a huge smile from creeping on her face. Her own heart beats screaming inside; Cerise missed the princess' own rhythm rising up.

Briar couldn't bear it anymore, the sweet expression in front of her controlling her actions, strongly as a magnet pulling her lips closer to the other girl's. But soon enough she went past them falling instead to the red girl's shoulder, deep in sleep.

"Princess?" Cerise sniffled as she noticed she was out.

Used to it, the red girl placed Briar in a comfortable position there where they laid, leaving the covers close in case they needed them… in this heated night. She frowned as she looked down on the sleeping figure.

"I know you can't help it but you should be more careful." Cerise said overjoyed from the previous moment, taking a ringlet to play with. "Don't go showing yourself all defenseless," She attempted at scolding, aware this would all be heard and reasoned in the morning, "not even with me," she paused as she bended to continue closer to Briar's face, "after all… I'm a girl but I'm also a…" she trailed her heart leaving her deaf as with her sight she devoured piece by piece the sight offered to her. Her eyes flared gold, staying that way as she leaned further in.

"Thank you" She whispered into the princess ear before moving north and planting a kiss to her temple. She laid beside her, carefully positioned to keep the princess on her sight as she dosed off.

For an instant she wondered if she would be able to sleep just like that considering the rush from moments ago, but then a wave of tiredness flew over her, the relief of being accepted accelerating the process. The feeling similar to that of when she was at home invited her to relax and let her guard down too; so much for scolding the princess. _Home,_ that was the key felt at home. The words of her sister repeated once again in her drowsy mind _"I can at least do this much… for those I care."_ The wolf child reasoned before crossing the line of the unconscious and just before finally giving in to the exhaustion of not only a complicated day but the heavy ones that preceded it, she made a decision: "I'm gonna save you Briar."

* * *

 **I'm alive -v- wondering if I'll finish this story before the end of the decade x'D**

 **Tell me to get my stuff together in the reviews! or you can always pressure me into writting on instagram or twitter (both yuihopes)**

 **Charm you later!**


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